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Requirements for MA Plans Offering Additional Telehealth Benefits

As part of the proposed rule issued November 1, 2018 by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) regarding updates to the Medicare Advantage (“MA”) and Medicare prescription drug benefit programs, CMS addressed expanding the ability of MA plans to offer telehealth benefits to their enrollees. The proposed telehealth regulations come on the heels of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 and implement § 50323 related to “additional telehealth benefits.”…
Continue Reading Blog Series Part 2: CMS Proposed Rule on Policy and Technical Changes to the Medicare Advantage, Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit, Medicaid Fee-For-Service, and Medicaid Managed Care Programs for Years 2020 and 2021

Recent activities of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and Qui Tam whistleblowers reveal that Medicare Advantage Plans remain at the forefront of investigations for violations of the federal False Claim Act (“FCA”) for allegedly engaging in improper risk adjustment practices and other improper or fraudulent practices. In addition to the pending FCA enforcement cases in the Swoben and Poehling cases, as well as reports of ongoing federal investigations, the recent federal settlement in May in Florida with Freedom Health, Inc., and Optimum HealthCare, Inc. – both Medicare Advantage-participating managed care plans that are subsidiaries of America’s 1st Choice Holdings of Florida, LLC – demonstrates that the DOJ, the Office of the Inspector General of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (“OIG”) and Qui Tam whistleblowers are not only interested in large players, such as UnitedHealth Group and others, but also in smaller and regional Medicare Advantage organizations.
Continue Reading The Enforcement Risks for Medicare Advantage Plans Continue: A New False Claims Act Settlement in Florida