In The Know: Stay Informed with Health Care News
Posted by Pauline Heidemann on Mon, Feb 20, 2012 @ 06:15 AM
This week, In The Know, looks at the following news stories: CMS To Consider New Deadline for ICD-10 Deadline; Record Amount of $4.1 Billion Recovered in Health Care Fraud; Proposed Budget Increase for HHS, but Decrease for HIPAA Enforcement; Nurses Have Greater Risk of Miscarriages from Hazardous Substances at Work; Plain-Language Regulations Issued for Health Insurance Plans.
CMS To Consider New Deadline for ICD-10 Deadline
Acting head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), Marilyn Tavenner, said on Tuesday that CMS will “reexamine the pace at which we implement ICD-10,” the medical diagnosis coding update. The new coding system, which quintuples the number of diagnosis codes, is scheduled to become effective on October 1, 2013, but organized medicine has been protesting the costs and complications of implementing the changes. Tavenner did not say specifically that the ICD-10 start date would be pushed back, but did say that CMS would create a working group with physicians to guide the implementation of the update. To read more, click on http://www.bna.com/cms-delay-icd10-n12884907903/.
Record Amount of $4.1 Billion Recovered in Health Care Fraud
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Justice announced they have recovered $4.1 billion in fraudulent health care payments in 2011, the largest amount ever collected in a single year. The government’s increased efforts to stop health care fraud led to a 50 percent increase in judgments and settlements fraudulently obtained from Medicare and Medicaid from 2009 to 2011. Much of the success stemmed from the Health Care Fraud Prevention & Enforcement Team (HEAT), a task force created in 2009 to prevent fraud. The $4.1 billion was either paid back to the U.S. Treasury or to CMS, transferred to other federal agencies that administer health care programs, or paid to private persons who were the victims of Medicare fraud. To read HHS’s statement, click on http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2012pres/02/20120214a.html.
Proposed Budget Increase for HHS, but Decrease for HIPAA Enforcement
President Obama’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2013 calls for an overall 8 percent increase in spending for the Department of Health and Human Services, but a 5 percent cut in spending for HIPAA. Under the proposal, the Office for Civil Rights would spend $39 million in 2013, down from $41 million in 2012. It would also cut staff by 4 percent. To read more about the proposed budget, click on http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget.
Nurses Have Greater Risk of Miscarriages from Hazardous Substances at Work
Occupational exposure to chemotherapy drugs and disinfectants were associated with a greater-than-expected risk of miscarriages among nurses, a new study from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) reported. To read the article, published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, click on http://www.ajog.org/article/S0002-9378%2811%2902470-7/fulltext.
Plain-Language Regulations Issued for Health Insurance Plans
Final rules issued by the Department of Health and Human Services last week established the first national standardized descriptions for coverage provided by health insurance plans. The rules are designed to ensure that information is presented in clear language and in a uniform format to help consumers better understand their coverage and better compare options. To read to new regulations, click on http://ofr.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2012-03228_PI.pdf.