http://www.doctorslawyer.com Expertise for the specialized medical practice Fri, 07 May 2010 14:02:36 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Please join Heather next Thursday, May 13th when she will lead a discussion about the recently signed Healthcare Reform Bill and the key provisions that will affect providers and their practices. All area healthcare managers and physicians are invited to attend. Space is limited, so please RSVP for the May 13th ... http://www.doctorslawyer.com/2010/05/07/may-13th-roundtable-the-healthcare-reform-bill-and-your-practice/ The first of our Spring Roundtable series will be on Thursday, March 11th, in which Heather will lead a discussion about the HITECH Act - Part 2. She will review the specific action items needed to achieve compliance with the most recent regulations, go over policies that may need to ... http://www.doctorslawyer.com/2010/03/03/spring-healthcare-roundtables-begin-march-11th/ The North Carolina Medical Society (NCMS) worked actively during the 2009 session of the NC General Assembly to pass legislation requiring health plans to provide proper notice to physicians before they make changes to fee schedules (i.e., Senate Bill 877). On October 1, 2009, before the provisions of SB877 became ... http://www.doctorslawyer.com/2010/02/11/update-on-bcbsnc-contract-addendum-by-the-ncms/ Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division Lanny A. Breuer announced December 15 the expansion of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force to Brooklyn, Tampa, and Baton Rouge. The expansion marks the fifth, sixth, and seventh phases of a targeted criminal, ... http://www.doctorslawyer.com/2010/02/11/hhs-doj-announce-medicare-fraud-strike-force-arrests-and-expansion-of-program/ North Carolina's Triangle Business Journal (12/9, Gallagher) reported that "after eight months [of] negotiations," UNC and Rex hospital systems told CIGNA "customers to plan on paying more for their care starting Jan. 1." Without a new contract, "more than 25,000 CIGNA of North Carolina customers would pay higher out-of-network fees if ... http://www.doctorslawyer.com/2010/02/11/uncrex-hospital-systems-warn-they-may-drop-cigna-from-network/ Provided by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), this document contains a summary of the most significant management and performance challenges facing HHS. The assessment is included as an appendix to the publicly available HHS annual Agency Financial Report. For a link ... http://www.doctorslawyer.com/2010/02/11/the-hhs-top-management-and-performance-challenges-published-by-oig/ In its Semiannual Report to Congress, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG)  announced significant audit, investigation, and evaluation accomplishments for the second half of fiscal year (FY) 2009 (April 1, 2009-September 30, 2009) and for FY 2009 in total. The OIG reported savings and ... http://www.doctorslawyer.com/2010/02/11/the-oig-reports-20-97-billion-in-savings-and-recoveries-in-fy-2009/ The North Carolina Medical Society (NCMS) received information in early December that a significant security breach occurred involving the MedSolutions website. MedSolutions is the vendor for NC Medicaid that administers the high-tech diagnostic imaging pre-authorization program. For a period of time that was not been clearly defined the name, address, email, ... http://www.doctorslawyer.com/2010/02/11/ncms-security-breach-reported-at-medsolutions-in-december-2009/ The North Carolina Medical Society Executive Vice President and CEO Robert W. Seligson, President of the Physicians Advocacy Institute (PAI), testified during a hearing on November 23, 2009 before the Connecticut Department of Insurance about the effects of UnitedHealthcare’s proposed acquisition of HealthNet of the Northeast. The PAI joined with representatives from ... http://www.doctorslawyer.com/2010/02/11/the-ncms-evp-ceo-testifies-on-proposed-uhc-acquisition-in-ct/ Bloomberg News (12/4, Glovin) reports that UnitedHealth Group, Inc., "won a judge's preliminary approval of a $350 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit claiming that the company colluded with others to underpay doctors." On Dec. 3, "US District Judge Lawrence McKenna unsealed his tentative authorization of the settlement," according to ... http://www.doctorslawyer.com/2009/12/08/unitedhealth-group-wins-preliminary-approval-of-350-million-settlement/