Tag: Zumpano Patricios
Legal analysis: Agree to pre-negotiate
April 6, 2020Matthew Fischer
Q. What concepts should parties consider when entering into contract modifications due to COVID-19?A. If not already, in the coming weeks, parties will be approached by fellow contracting parties financially impacted by the COVID-19 virus. Whether it's a landlord/tenant issue (e.g. extensions or default in rent payments), a lender/borrower issue (e.g. extensions or default in mortgage payments or required maintenance) or a business contract issue (e.g. lack of supply or failure to perform as...
Legal Analysis: Seek counsel for business arrangements
March 11, 2020Matthew Fischer
Q. I continue to hear about prosecutions by the Department of Justice of DME companies involved in telemedicine. What should I know?A. Almost one year ago, the DOJ initiated prosecutions into one of the largest healthcare fraud cases in history that resulted in substantial losses and charges against numerous executives of telemedicine and DME companies. The schemes involved the payment of illegal kickbacks and bribes by DME companies in exchange for medical providers to refer Medicare beneficiaries...
Legal Analysis: Review work plan updates
February 12, 2020Matthew Fischer
Q. As a Medicare supplier, what are the key risk areas that regulators are currently evaluating?A. The best place to start when being proactive is to review the latest work plan updates issued by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The mission of the OIG is to protect the integrity of federal healthcare programs, as well as their beneficiaries, by detecting and preventing fraud, waste and abuse. These efforts are demonstrated in...
Legal Update: Establish social media policy
January 8, 2020Matthew Fischer
Q. Is it possible to commit a HIPAA violation when using social media?A. Yes. Suppliers should be aware of the intersection of social media and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Problems can arise with even innocent responses containing a patient's protected health information (PHI) on social media.To better highlight this issue, let's review the latest enforcement action by the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR), the government body...