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The Shocking Truth About Neurostimulators and the Government’s Efforts to Recoup Payments

For much of the past decade, peripheral neurostimulator devices have been used liberally by some practitioners to treat chronic pain. In addition to pain relief, any manufacturers also promise providers that these devices are reimbursable by Medicare. This combination of relief and reimbursement has proven irresistible. Why not use a device that gives patients relief […]

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OIG Issues Final Rules on Anti-Kickback Statute and the Civil Monetary Penalty

In its final rule, the OIG defined what constitutes “telehealth technologies” more broadly than in its proposed rule, but otherwise chose to track the conditions for the exception contained in the underlying statute and not to implement any of the additional conditions that were included in the proposed rule. Source: OIG Issues Final Rules on […]

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Stark + AKS Final Rules

The final rules for changes to the Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute (healthcare fraud & abuse laws) have been published and go into effect on January 19, 2020. Of course, health lawyers love this stuff, but it could impact other practice areas too. Transaction attorneys, you already know to be very careful if your transaction […]

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OIG Fraud Concerns Over Physician Speaker Programs

In a Special Fraud Alert issued on November 16, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) raised significant fraud and abuse concerns with companies offering or providing remuneration in connection with physician speaker programs. Speaker programs typically involve one health care professional presenting to others on a company’s drug […]

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OIG Semiannual Report to Congress

OIG issued its Semiannual Report to Congress summarizing the activities of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Inspector General (OIG), for the 6-month period ending on March 31, 2020. The OIG noted that during this reporting period, there were 443 criminal actions, 370 civil actions, 903 exclusions, and an expected $1.51 […]