Labs in the Crosshairs: Navigating Post-COVID Government Enforcement Actions

Wednesday, November 30, 2022 | 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

McDonald Hopkins Event

Webcast Only

Laboratories continue to be major targets of civil and criminal investigations and prosecutions by the Department of Justice and other healthcare enforcement agencies. Questions relating to billing procedures, medical necessity, and payment arrangements with employees, sale representatives, and laboratory client accounts remain primary areas that government prosecutors and enforcement agents probe for potential kickbacks and false claims violations. The aftermath of COVID related testing has only increased government activity and laboratories now find themselves under more scrutiny than ever before.

In this webinar, presented by McDonald Hopkins' National Healthcare Practice Group, Liz Sullivan and Richard Blake will discuss the added pressure many labs and other providers are experiencing and provide tips on how to prepare for government audits and investigations. Liz and Richard will also share observations and insight from interactions with government prosecutors and investigation trends arising from enforcement in recent years.

Topics to be covered include:

Common trends in government investigation relating to laboratories and AKS, FCA and EKRA, including examples from recent experience
Parallels of AKS and EKRA and anticipated enforcement tactics
Enforcement trends relating to COVID testing, including HRSA audits
How to prepare for audits and investigations

Skilled nursing facilities will soon be required to significantly expand their reporting of ownership and control information on newly updated CMS-855A forms. Private equity companies and other organizations like real estate investment trusts have been named as one of the reasons that the expanded reporting for SNFs has been implemented. As such, these organizations should be aware that they may be a part of this reporting through a number of routes.

Over the past 24 months, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights has brought notable enforcement efforts against several non-profit covered entities and business associates, resulting in instances of six and seven-figure penalties against providers across the county for incidents involving breaches of protected health information.

A new amendment to New York state law, which would have required all healthcare providers to obtain separate consents from patients for treatment and payment is on hold until further guidance is released, according to the New York Department of Health.

Labs in the Crosshairs: Navigating Post-COVID Government Enforcement Actions

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