Wednesday, December 2nd, 2020
1 p.m. EST / Noon CST / 10:00 a.m. PST
OIG Work Plan 2021 – Is Your Home Health, Hospice or Personal Care Agency in the Government’s Crosshairs?
The Office of Inspector General’s “Work Plan” is its general audit and investigative plan for the upcoming year. The publication of OIG’s Work Plan serves to publicize law enforcement’s program integrity concerns with respect to certain claims and services, types of providers and specific conduct that is thought to be improper. It is an essential tool all health care providers should use to know where to focus its compliance efforts. In this webinar, attorneys Lester Johnson and Jason Cabell will discuss the current OIG Work Plan and how it will affect home health and hospice providers, along with other ancillary providers related to them. This webinar is scheduled for 60 minutes with a Q & A session to follow.
Wednesday, November 18th, 2020
1 p.m. EST / Noon CST / 10:00 a.m. PST
Are Your Marketing Practices Legal?
Marketing activities that would normally qualify as ordinary business courtesies if extended to an actual or potential source of referrals in other industries, are often illegal in the context of Federal health business programs. In this session, we will discuss whether a number of common marketing practices comply with Stark and the Federal Anti-kickback Statute. We will also examine various Texas State laws that must be considering before an agency engages in marketing. In this webinar, attorneys Heidi Kocher and Michael Cook discuss how Stark regulates gifts and other marketing activities aimed at referral sources. They will also learn how the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute impacts the provision of gifts and other marketing activities aimed at referral sources. Finally, the presenters will discuss how Texas State statutes regulate the provision of gifts on referral sources. This webinar is scheduled for 60 minutes with a Q & A session to follow.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14TH, 2020
1 P.M. EST / NOON CST / 10:00 A.M. PST
Effective Compliance Program: How will Law Enforcement Evaluate Your Efforts If There Is A Problem.
In February 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice published guidance describing specific factors that prosecutors should consider when conducting an investigation of a corporate entity in order to determine whether to bring criminal charges. These factors, commonly known as the “Filip Factors,” include “the existence and effectiveness of the corporation’s preexisting compliance program” and the corporation’s remedial efforts “to implement an effective corporate compliance program or to improve an existing one.” Notably, the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (OIG), followed-up in March 2017 with a list of questions that health care providers can use to evaluate the effectiveness of their organization’s compliance program. During this session, attorneys Richard Pecore and Leonard Schneider will examine what the government expects and the steps you can take to better ensure that your health care organization is complying with applicable statutory and regulatory requirements. This webinar is scheduled for 60 minutes with a Q & A session to follow.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9TH, 2020
1 P.M. EST / NOON CST / 10:00 A.M. PST
Targeted Probe and Educate: Two Years and Counting — Results and How to Help Your Agency.
CMS believes results of the Home Health Targeted Probe and Educate program have been favorable based on the decrease in claim errors after providers received education. In this webinar, Lorraine Rosado and Richard Pecore will discuss the steps involved in a TPE audit, how to respond and steps you can take to minimize your exposure. This webinar is scheduled for 60 minutes with a Q & A session to follow.
Wednesday, August 5th, 2020
1 p.m. EST / Noon CST / 10:00 a.m. PST
Problems and Pitfalls With Home Health and Hospice EHR Systems -- Address These Software Deficiencies Now, Before it is Too Late!
As the use of Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems has expanded, so has the number of documentation, coding and billing problems associated with the use of these record keeping systems. Unfortunately, it seems like many of the EHR systems being used by Home Health, Hospice and Personal Care Agencies were developed primarily by programmers, with only minimal input from the clinicians, coders and billers responsible for actually ensuring that the services recorded are factually accurate and fully comply with applicable statutory and regulatory requirements. In recent years, we have seen administrative, civil and criminal cases brought against agencies based on false or fraudulent information entered into an agency’s EHR. In this session, we will examine the primary problems typically identified by government auditors and discuss how these problems could have been avoided. We will also examine how one agency tackled this problem head-on, and decided the best way to fix these common, recurrent, EHR problems was to build their own! Join Robert W. Liles and Lee Vasic, Owner of Heartwood Home Health & Hospice, and developer of “Agency Data, LLC,” a Home Health / Hospice / Private Duty EHR system built FOR agencies BY clinical and administrative agency personnel. This webinar is scheduled for 60 minutes with a Q & A session to follow.
Wednesday, July 1st, 2020
1 p.m. EST / Noon CST / 10:00 a.m. PST
Cybersecurity Issues for Home Health and Hospice Providers
Cybersecurity threats that can cause financial losses, problems with government regulators and damage to your agency’s reputation. This presentation will provide an overview of current cybersecurity issues faced by home health providers and the latest legal developments. The presenters also will discuss best practices for managing cybersecurity risk and how to address a security breach. Join attorneys Heidi Kocher and Meaghan McCormick as they discuss these important issues.This webinar is scheduled for 60 minutes with a Q & A session to follow.
Wednesday, June 3, 2020
1 p.m. EST / Noon CST / 10:00 a.m. PST
What the {bleep}!?! How Should Your Agency React When Something Goes Wrong?
Mistakes happen. What should you do if an “excluded” party is advertently hired? How should overpayments be handled? What are your obligations is you uncover evidence of patient abuse? How should you respond if you learn that one your marketing personnel has been engaging in improper or illegal solicitation activities? How should you react if a physician demands a “fee” in order to receive referrals? Join us as we discuss these issues and more! Attorneys Heidi Kocher and Richard Pecore will discuss the steps you should take to reduce your level of risk and make any necessary disclosures to the government. This webinar is scheduled for 60 minutes with a Q & A session to follow.
Wednesday, May 13th, 2020
1 p.m. EST / Noon CST / 10:00 a.m. PST
Recent Developments for Expanded Coverage of Services Such as Personal Care by Medicare Advantage Plans
Approximately 35% of Medicare beneficiaries choose to be covered by managed care plans under the Medicare Advantage program. Beginning in January 2019, Medicare expanded the types of supplemental benefits that these plans could cover to include services such as personal care. Beginning in January of 2020, these plans were able to expand even further the types of services that they could provide as such benefits. Attorneys Michael Cook and Jennifer Papapanagiotou will discuss the opportunities for home health and home care agencies to take advantage of these new opportunities to expand the benefits that they provide under these programs. It will also discuss new compliance and contracting issues that these opportunities create.
Wednesday, April 1st, 2020
Top 10 Survey Deficiencies
The Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services is required to compile and report survey and enforcement data every year in its Regulatory Services Annual Report. The vast majority of the top 10 deficiencies listed in the latest annual report continue to be top 10 issues or deficiencies. In this webinar, attorneys Jennifer Papapanagiotou and Mary Soule will discuss the latest report to help home health agencies and hospices identify the most frequently cited deficiencies, review sample survey citations, recognize areas where your agency or hospice may improve patient services and how to respond to imposition of administrative penalties and enforcement action. This webinar is scheduled for 60 minutes with a Q & A session to follow.
Wednesday, March 4th, 2020
An Overview of the CMS Preclusion List
As if the federal and state exclusions lists weren’t enough, CMS has now created a “Preclusion List” that is different from existing exclusions databases. The CMS preclusion list is a register of all health care providers, suppliers, and prescribers who are precluded from receiving reimbursement for Medicare Advantage items and services or Part D drugs that are provided or prescribed to Medicare beneficiaries. CMS has established the preclusion list in an effort to better ensure patient safety and to protect the integrity of the Medicare Trust Funds from the actions of providers and prescribers that have been identified as “bad actors.” During this session, attorneys Robert Liles and Paul Weidenfeld will discuss the genesis of this list, how an entity is placed on the list and what information is available about those who are on the CMS Preclusion List. This webinar is scheduled for 60 minutes with a Q & A session to follow.
Wednesday, February 5th, 2020
Medicare Provider Enrollment Changes: 100 New Ways to Lose Your Billing Privileges
On September 10, 2019, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published a Final Rule in the Federal Register entitled, “Medicare, Medicaid, and Children’s Health Insurance Programs; Program Integrity Enhancements to the Provider Enrollment Process.” Under the Final Rule, the reporting obligations of Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP providers and suppliers will dramatically increase when they file a new enrollment application, re-validate their enrollment, need to file a change of information, or need to notify the agency of a change in ownership. During this session, attorney Jennifer Papapanagiotou will take a “first look” at the impact of the Final Rule on the obligations of providers and suppliers. Additionally, they will also review CMS’ new revocation and denial authorities, and discuss a number of the challenges that home health and hospice agencies may soon face. This webinar is scheduled for 60 minutes with a Q & A session to follow.
Wednesday, January 15th, 2020
Update on the Review Claim Demonstration Project – Recommendations for Texas Home Health Providers
Despite repeated delays, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), remains committed in its efforts to initiate the Review Choice Demonstration for Home Health Services project here in Texas. This initiative is the renamed, repackaged version of the prior Pre-Claim Review Demonstration project that was initiated, then placed on hold (due in large part to provider protests), in April 2017. In this webinar, attorneys Ashley Morgan and Michael Cook will discuss the Review Demonstration Project and its likely impact on your home health agency. This webinar is scheduled for 60 minutes with a Q & A session to follow.