DOJ Intervenes in Fraud & Abuse Case Against Tennessee Hospital

Posted on September 6, 2024 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

By Health Capital Consultants, LLC

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On July 26, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a complaint in intervention against Murphy Medical Center, doing business as Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital, and Chattanooga-Hamilton County Hospital Authority, doing business as the Erlanger Health System and Erlanger Medical Center. The government’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, alleges that Erlanger violated the Stark Law, and subsequently submitted false claims to the Medicare program in violation of the False Claims Act (FCA).

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This Health Capital Topics article reviews the allegations underlying the case. (Read more...) 

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DAILY UPDATE: Stark Laws & 23andMe as Wall Street Pulls Back

Posted on April 19, 2024 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

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If the practice makes a reasonable effort to collect from a patient who is experiencing financial hardship (e.g., job loss due to COVID-19), providers may be able to offer a discount (e.g., settle for 70% of the amount owed) without violating Stark Law, says Reed Tinsley, CPA, healthcare consultant in Houston, Texas. “But remember that just because even if someone doesn’t have a job, they could still have money,” he adds. “There are a lot of people out there with big savings accounts.”

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Source: Lisa A. Eramo, MA, Keith A. Reynolds, Physicians Practice [4/3/24]

  • 23andMe cofounder and CEO Anne Wojcicki wants to take the once-hot DNA company private. 23andMe said a Special Committee would evaluate the proposal in light of other options. The company’s valuation has tumbled since its stock market debut in 2021. The struggling DNA company once valued in the billions — was essentially worthless as of Wednesday.
  • But,shares soared Thursday less than three years after it began selling shares. Wojcicki told board members she is proposing to acquire the company in a potential go-private transaction, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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Here’s where the major benchmarks ended:

  • The S&P 500 index fell 11.09 points (0.2%) to 5,011.12; the Dow Jones Industrial Average® ($DJI) rose 22.07 points (0.1%) to 37,775.38; the NASDAQ Composite lost 81.88 points (0.5%) to 15,601.50.
  • The 10-year Treasury note yield (TNX) gained almost 5 basis points to 4.633%.
  • The CBOE Volatility Index® (VIX) dropped 0.22 to 17.99.

Weakness in chip maker shares pushed the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) down 1.7% to a two-month low. Biotechnology and consumer discretionary shares were also among the weakest sectors. Energy companies eroded as WTI Crude Oil (/CL) futures dropped for a third straight trading day and closed at a three-week low. 

The S&P 500 is on track for its third consecutive weekly decline, its weakest stretch since September, while the NASDAQ Composite appears headed for a fourth straight weekly slide.

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Hospital Settles False Claims Act Allegations for $18.2 Million

Posted on December 27, 2021 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

BY HEALTH CAPITAL CONSULTANTS, LLC

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Hospital Settles False Claims Act Allegations for $18.2 Million


On December 2, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it had entered into an $18.2 million settlement with Flower Mound Hospital, a 91-bed hospital located northwest of Dallas, to resolve claims that the hospital had violated the Stark Law, the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS), and the False Claims Act (FCA) by making improper inducements to referring physicians. This Health Capital Topics article will review the facts underlying the settlement. (Read more…)

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PP-ACA Physician Ownership Provisions

Posted on July 5, 2013 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

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Understanding the “whole hospital exception” to the Stark laws

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA CMP®

www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org

Dr. David E. Marcinko MBAThis was a big week for healthcare reform, wasn’t it? Some provisions of the PP-ACA requiring the employer mandates were delayed another year; until January 1, 2015.

But, before passage of the ACA in 2010, the “whole hospital exception” to the Stark law allowed physicians to have an ownership interest in a hospital to which those physicians refer patients, provided the physician is invested in the whole hospital and not a subdivision of the hospital, with no limitations as to the amount or extent of physician ownership, on either an aggregate or individual basis.

Prohibitions

Now, according to colleague Robert James Cimasi MHA, AVA, ASA, MCBA, CMP®, of www.HealthCapital.com, The ACA completely prohibits physician-owned hospitals which were not Medicare-certified by December 31, 2010.

[1] The ACA allows hospitals with a provider agreement prior to December 31, 2010 to continue Medicare participation if they meet the following four criteria: (1) located in a county with a population growth rate of at least150% the state’s population growth over the last 5 years; (2) have Medicaid inpatient admission percentage of at least the average of all hospitals in the county; (3) located in a state with below-national-average bed capacity; and, (4) have bed occupancy rate greater than state average. [2]

Grandfathered

A very limited number of physician-owned hospital existing in 2010 met or were close to meeting all 4 of criteria.[3] The Reconciliation Act provided a limited exception to the ACA growth restrictions for grandfathered physician owned hospitals that treat the highest percentage of Medicaid patients in their county (and are not the sole hospital in a county).[4]

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Financial Management Strategies for Hospitals and Healthcare Organizations: Tools, Techniques, Checklists and…

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Assessment

Based on these provisions, the 2010 healthcare reform legislation will likely have a considerable negative impact on physician-owned hospitals, in terms of impeding development of new hospitals and expansion of existing hospitals.

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[1]       “Section-by-Section Analysis with Changes Made by Title X and Reconciliation included within Titles I-IX,” Democratic Policy Committee, http://dpc.senate.gov/healthreformbill/healthbill96.pdf (Accessed 5/24/2010).

[2]       “Section-by-Section Analysis with Changes Made by Title X and Reconciliation included within Titles I-IX,” Democratic Policy Committee, http://dpc.senate.gov/healthreformbill/healthbill96.pdf (Accessed 5/24/2010).

[3]       “Healthcare Reform: A Brief Analysis on How it Impacts ASCs and Physician-OwnedHospitals – 10 Observations”, By Scott Becker, Leigh Page, and Rob Kurtz, Becker’s Hospital Review, http://www.beckersorthopedicandspine.com/news-a-analysis/legal-a-regulatory/1193-healthcare-reform-abrief- analysis-on-how-it-impacts-ascs-and-physician-owned-hospitals-10-observations (Accessed 5/20/10).

[4]       “Section-by-Section Analysis with Changes Made by Title X and Reconciliation included within Titles I-IX,” Democratic Policy Committee, http://dpc.senate.gov/healthreformbill/healthbill96.pdf (Accessed 5/24/2010).

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