Legal & Regulatory Issues

A representative of the U.S. Department of Justice said he department will work with hospitals and other providers to create models of clinical integration that do not violate antitrust laws, according to a report by AHA News Now.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has indicated that he will drop a proposal in the health reform bill to allow people ages 55-64 to buy into the Medicare program, according to a report by the Hill.

A newly proposed amendment to the Senate healthcare reform bill would postpone eliminating Medicare consultation codes that is scheduled for Jan. 1, according to a release from a coalition of the AMA and several specialty groups.

Natchez (Miss.) Regional Medical Center has sued its former management company and two former top executives for $46 million, according to a report by the Clarion-Ledger.

Janet Johnson-Hunter, MD, of Jacksonville, N.C., pleaded guilty to conspiring to conceal material facts in connection with the delivery and payment for healthcare benefits, items and services, according to a report in ENC Today.

The American Medical Association has added three new codes and removed two codes from the urodynamics section of the CPT 2010 Book, according to a release from the American Academy of Professional Coders.

The American Medical Association has released corrections to be made to the CPT 2010 Book on its "Errata" Web site.

Detroit-area residents Baskaran Thangarasan, Sandeep Aggarwal and Wayne Smith have pleaded guilty for their roles in connection with several Detroit-area healthcare fraud schemes, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.

R&V Medical Supplies, LLC, located in Philadelphia, Robert Saul and Sheila Saul were indicted on charges that they allegedly conspired to defraud Medicare and other healthcare benefit programs by submitting more than $1.2 million in fraudulent claims for reimbursement for…

A change to the policy for anesthesiologists and CRNAs who bill Medicare for teaching anesthesia services to residents and student nurse anesthetists will go into affect on Jan. 1, 2010, according to a news release from the American Academy of…