Excerpt of a contributed article published in Medical Economics on November 3, 2020.
These waivers could lead to lasting flexibilities for physicians — if a few bad apples don’t spoil the bunch
On October 19, 2020, the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) highlighted recent actions taken by the federal government to criminally charge, and revoke billing privileges of, health care providers nationwide for alleged involvement in fraudulent schemes. The recent crackdown resulted from coordination between the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Office of Inspector General (OIG) and CMS, and demonstrates the government’s continued focus on enforcing federal fraud and abuse laws and targeting abusive arrangements despite relaxations of such laws in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. To the extent the fraud and abuse waivers have the potential to lead to lasting flexibilities under current fraud and abuse regulations, the proliferation of abusive arrangements could threaten the prospect of long-term change. Read the full article.