There should be no “discrimination of coverage” between mental health benefits and those paid out by insurance companies for physical health, says Rep. Martin Howrylak (R-Troy).

He introduced two bills in mid June,HB6109, and HB 6191, calling the mental health parity, requiring insurers to offer the same coverage for mental health services as traditional medical care.

“The big picture is that mental health treatment should be not subordinated to physical health because they are inextricably linked,” Howrylak explained. “They both represent heath care needs of individuals.”

He used the example of disorders like bulimia and anorexia. Left untreated, they obviously can lead to very significant health problems later on.

“If I were an insurance company, I would rather nip it in the bud because I would know that I might have to spend a little more money today but in the long run I’m going to save money,” he said. “If people are doing well mentally, they are most likely going to be doing better than they would otherwise physically. It is very antiquated to treat them separately and it is something that is not consistent with modern science.”

The issue is not new in Michigan.

Wendy Block of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, which has opposed previous such proposals, said [Read More]

By EWA MATUSZEWSKI
In last month’s column, I asked the question, “Why do physicians with a career history of providing high quality care have to continue to take board re-certification examinations every six years?” I guess the topic of certifications in general has me in a bit of a huff these days. Not physician certifications, necessarily; rather, the plethora of certifications that have sprouted in recent years for healthcare roles not directly related to personal, clinical care.

I recently came across a post on LinkedIn that noted 149 patient advocates were now certified through a board I won’t name, following the inaugural national certification exam for professionals working as patient advocates. I’m an advocate for advocacy in most forms, and certainly for patient advocates. Yet does an examination make them more qualified or effective than their non-certified patient advocate colleagues in the field? I use this only as an example, not to highlight the legitimacy of this particular board and/or certification.

In general, I believe there is mission creep when it comes to board certifications for professionals who work in the healthcare community yet are not providing direct clinical care. Is the goal of having an educated healthcare workforce being hijacked by non-profit or for-profit companies set up [Read More]

By SARAH HILLEGONDS, ESQ
In June, a controversial bill that would impose work requirements on Medicaid recipients in the state’s expanded Healthy Michigan Plan made its way through the Legislature. It is expected that Gov. Rick Snyder will sign this bill into law, which could affect hundreds of thousands of individuals enrolled in the Healthy Michigan Plan. The House Fiscal Agency estimates that 540,000 of 670,000 individuals in the Healthy Michigan Plan would be subject to the new work requirements, and 5 percent to 10 percent of those individuals could lose coverage.

As background, the Healthy Michigan Plan was approved by the Legislature in 2013. It provides health coverage to individuals between ages 19 and 64 with income at or below 133 percent of the federal poverty line that do not qualify for Medicaid or Medicare.

Under the proposed bill, beginning in 2020, able-bodied adults ages 18 to 62 would have to show workforce engagement averaging 80 hours per month to be eligible for the Healthy Michigan Plan, unless an exemption applies. Qualifying work activities include employment or self-employment, education, job training, vocational training, internships, participation in substance abuse treatment, and community service. An individual is exempt from the workforce engagement requirements in the following circumstances:  pregnant; [Read More]

By Tim Gary
Electronic medical records have become vital to both hospitals and physician’s practices. They are a secure, electronic version of a patients’ medical history and often include all of the clinical data relevant to a patient’s care, including demographics, progress notes, problems, medications, vital signs, past medical history, immunizations, laboratory data and radiology reports. The EMR automates access to information and streamlines the healthcare provider’s workflow. When a hospital EMR crashes or is breached it can be catastrophic. There is a real risk of liability exposure if the clinical staff’s access to patient records is cut off and the clinician proceeds with treatment without having access to all of the relevant data. Having assisted a number of hospitals in acquiring, implementing and maintaining electronic healthcare record systems, I have witnessed some of the best and worst practices. Here are some guidelines on how to prepare for a crash, or loss of data, and what to do after it happens.

No Such Thing As A Failure-proof System
Normally there are several redundancies built into hospital computer systems and most Software as a Service (SAS) physician office EMRs in order to either prevent a crash or bring the system back up quickly. These include recovery programs and [Read More]

There are some high-rollers out there who are being asked to kick in some big bucks to bankroll what could be a $4-$5 million ad campaign to defeat legalized pot on the statewide ballot in November.

At an unannounced and closed door meeting during the week of June 11, the Senate Majority Leader asked the lobby shops in town that have a piece of this pot issue to meet to discuss the anti-pot strategy.

The unanswered question on the table was simple: Are these interests willing to shell out the money to run an effective vote no campaign?

No one around the table had the answer, but the pledge was made to make the contacts with the various entities to get an answer. Everyone agreed to meet in another week or so.

Recall that Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof (R-Holland) was unable to pass the pot petition drive language with the hopes of regulating the smaller “microbrew”-type shops that come away with weakened state regulation under this proposal. He also wanted to address amounts and dosages, among other things.

Hence, when the lobbyists discuss this issue, a critical question will likely be why would these major donors wanted to fund the no vote campaign and toward what end?

If they were [Read More]

By GEORGE GAINES, MSW, MPH
The morbidity data from Michigan Community Health and the Detroit Department of Health show several disease outbreaks during the last two years. Here, I offer a description of the increases and a viewpoint on the causes involved.

A theory and hypothesis are derived from data from the study by Ford Hospital1 and the morbidity data from the City Health Department 2012 thru 2017. The supporting theory is the lack of household water will affect household sanitation increasing the risk for disease.

Given the fact of thousands of water-service shuts offs, sanitation is compromised increasing risk of disease. The hypothesis is outbreaks of waterborne disease in Detroit are caustically related to the massive number of shut offs in 2016-2017. The three waterborne diseases are proof of outbreaks: First, shigellosis an acute dysentery. Second, giardiasis is a protozoan infection. Third, campylobacter an acute enteric that attacks the intestines. Children are infected more by water contaminated water sources than adults. For shigellosis “most of the deaths, are in children under 10 years of age.”2

GI outbreaks annually averaged 10.2 from 2012 thru 2015 years. However, 2016 had 45 and 2017 had 87 out breaks of group clusters (individual cases are not required reportable).

Data are arranged in two [Read More]

By PAUL NATINSKY
IndyCar driver Charlie Kimball says he is the first diabetic to start and finish the Indy 500. Legally, that is. Diabetic racer Howdy Wilcox II competed in the Indianapolis 500, finishing second in 1932, but he was disqualified before the 1933 race when diabetic symptoms revealed his secret.

Today’s racecar drivers travel much faster—in excess of 225 mph on oval tracks—than their compatriots of yesteryear. Consequently, the slowed reactions, vision issues and decision-making deficits characteristic of unmanaged diabetes are much more dangerous.

“Charlie needs to consistently keep track of before getting on the racetrack,” Michigan State University kinesiologist David Ferguson told MSU Today in 2017. “If his blood sugar is too low, it may take him too long to make the right decision. If his sugar is too high, his reaction time may be fine, but the likelihood of him making the wrong choice increases.” Ferguson works with Kimball to manage his diabetes and authored a study using data from his work with Kimball.

“Technically, since Charlie doesn’t have a functioning pancreas, all the other drivers have had an advantage over him,” Ferguson said. “We simply put him on a level playing field.”

Kimball, 33, thinks his heightened consciousness regarding his health and fitness gives him an [Read More]

Setting a building on fire and then “rescuing” its inhabitants does not make one a hero—quite the opposite.

Thwarting the intent of a law by refusing to enforce it and then using that action to further undermine the law does not make one a skilled policymaker representing the will of the people—quite the opposite.

But that is what the president and his attorney general have done in supporting a lawsuit that would eliminate the Affordable Care Act’s requirement to cover pre-existing medical conditions, leaving those who are sick and uninsured without coverage options. The suit was filed by several conservative states and the ACA is being defended against by a group of heavily Democratic states.

Actually, the administration is going much further, endorsing the declaration of the entire ACA as unconstitutional because the health insurance mandate (upheld famously by the Supreme Court in 2012) is so central to the law.

The conservative states’ lawsuit argues that if the there are no penalties connected to the mandate (a provision Republicans included in the recently passed tax bill), then there is no incentive for people to seek insurance until they are already sick—an unfair and expensive situation for insurers.

The lawsuit and the attorney general’s brief in support of it is the [Read More]

By EWA MATUSZEWSKI
Several DO and MD primary care physicians recently noted to me the grueling commitment of preparing for their respective medical boards. These exemplary practice leaders have been physicians for several decades—and plan to continue working for the foreseeable future. Each of the physicians I spoke with is a PCMH champion with an outstanding reputation for serving their patients and the surrounding Macomb, Oakland and Wayne County communities.

Why do physicians with a career history of providing high quality care have to continue to take board re-examinations every six years? I’m looking for a reasonable answer, but the response currently seems to be, “so they don’t get kicked out of a health plan.” At the same time, I can’t help but ponder the big business behind board certifications. Consider the cost of the board examinations and the prep programs including pre-tests, times the number of physicians taking them and it’s hard to deny the financial implications/advantages of keeping the status quo.

At a time when we aggressively aim to attract and retain primary care physicians, we need to remove barriers that prevent senior physicians in the field from staying. This problem is of notable concern in underserved areas where primary care physicians may be opting out [Read More]

(Editor’s Note: The following is a statement issued by the Genesee County Medical Society, June 4)
The Genesee County Medical Society has reviewed the position taken by the Medical Staff of the Hurley Medical Center regarding the term “lead poisoned.” It’s very important to recognize there are no strict guidelines that would allow us to state that using the term “exposed” is different than using the term “poisoned” in regard to physiologic disruption caused by the toxic metal lead. It is vital to emphasize that there is no safe amount of lead when ingested by children, pregnant women, or any person daily for 15 months without any risk to health and/or development.

While there are still some who must see organ failure, seizures or altered consciousness to use the word poisoned, many medical and scientific experts along with the federal Centers for Disease Control have recognized the more subtle effects of lead poisoning and have repeatedly lowered the level of concern from 40 to 5 ug/ml starting in the 1970s. This has happened in part because the methods to measure blood levels have improved as well as the tools to evaluate brain function. Additionally, screening with blood lead levels does not measure the lead storage in other [Read More]

By KEVIN R. MISEREZ, ESQ.
Wachler & Associates, P.C.
On May 29, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services published its 60-day notice to allow interested stakeholders the opportunity to comment on CMS’s proposed Review Choice Demonstration for Home Health Services (revised demonstration). The Review Choice Demonstration is a revised version of the CMS’s previous Pre-Claim Review Demonstration for Home Health Services, which was paused by CMS on April 1, 2017. According to CMS, the revised demonstration will “offer more flexibility and choice for providers.”

Under the revised demonstration, home health agency providers subject to the demonstration have the choice of participating in either a 100 percent pre-claim review or 100 percent post-payment review. These HHAs will remain under the chosen review method until the HHA reaches the target affirmation (for pre-claim reviews) or claim approval rate (for post-payment reviews). At this time, CMS has not provided any specific benchmarks with respect to the requisite “target affirmation” or “claim approval rate” HHAs will need to satisfy. However, once the target affirmation or claim approval rate has been met, HHAs may choose to be relieved from claim reviews with the exception of a “spot check” of their claims to ensure continued compliance.

Under the pre-claim-review option, CMS will review [Read More]

By ALLAN DOBZYNIAK, MD
The solution to healthcare’s costs and access problems is quite obvious. It has been repeatedly suggested that what is needed is a plethora of doctors. Of course this would lower cost and increase access. “Overpayment” of U.S. doctors would disappear as the market becomes oversaturated. Access to care would no longer be an issue as doctors compete for patients.

Only a few minor adjustments would be needed. Time and cost as barriers to manufacturing legions of new doctors could be rectified by eliminating the non-essential four years of college and the extraneous liberal arts courses. A year or so of several science courses in the local community college should suffice. Once in medical school, students could be indoctrinated to give up their rights and self-determination for the general good. Compromise as an approach to regulatory serfdom could be declared one of the most laudable qualities. The chorus of righteousness and the PR mumbo-jumbo of “openness,” “caring,” “sharing,” “community,” and “compassion” could be further integrated into the curriculum. Being taught to think like thinking machines would be pursued. Following the protocols and checking boxes in the myriad screens in the EMR to satisfy the masters of the very “moral” RVU invention would relegate thinking [Read More]

By: KERRY B. HARVEY & ANDREW L. SPARKS
Michigan, like the rest of the country, suffers from an opioid epidemic. Every day, more than 100 Americans die from an opioid overdose. Some economists estimate that the opioid crisis has cost the U.S. economy more than $1 trillion since 2001 and is on pace to cost an additional $500 billion through 2020.

The profligate use of opioid pain relievers has contributed mightily to the epidemic. A few data points tell the story:

• About a quarter of patients prescribed opioids for chronic pain do not use them as directed.

• Roughly 4 out of 5 heroin users first abused prescription opioids.

• United States citizens consume about 80 percent of the world supply of oxycodone and almost all of the supply of hydrocodone

Predictably, lawyers and their clients have engaged the legal system to assign responsibility for the opioid epidemic. The wave of opioid litigation has reached Michigan. Opioid litigation, modeled largely on the tobacco lawsuits of the 1990s, has grown exponentially over the last few years. State and local governments initially targeted pharmaceutical manufacturers. Now, distributors such as McKesson and Cardinal have been sued. In 2017, more than 250 state and local governments sued organizations throughout the opioid supply [Read More]

Legalized Pot Goes To Ballot, House Opts Not To Vote
Not only did the House Republican caucus not have the votes to legislatively adopt and amend a citizen initiative to legalize recreational use of marijuana, House Speaker Tom Leonard (R-DeWitt) said June 5 he’s not convinced the state Senate really did either.

Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof (R-West Olive), presented with polling showing recreational marijuana passing this fall, said he had 20 votes in the Senate to pass the marijuana legalization citizens initiative.

Had the House passed it June 5, the last day of the 40-day constitutional deadline, Meekhof pledged he would have, too, giving Republican lawmakers an easier shot at amending the proposal to better regulate “home-brew” marijuana businesses, potency restriction and possession amounts.

But the House didn’t have the votes. Inside sources project the chamber had about 40 and likely weren’t going to get any more. Democrats had presented a united front against the proposal and hardline conservatives philosophically opposed legalizing pot.

And Leonard questioned whether the Senate had the 20 votes to pass it anyway, despite Meekhof’s claims.

“I have to believe that if they had the votes to pass this, if they were serious, that they would have taken the vote. And they have yet to take [Read More]

A Flint doctor whose research helped expose the lead contamination crisis in Flint’s drinking water said it was the chief medical executive’s work that moved state officials “to change course” in the water crisis.

Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, a pediatrician with Hurley Medical Center and Michigan State University, said Dr. Eden Wells’ phone call to her in October 2015 got the state to relook at its results—which contradicted the doctor’s research—of lead blood levels in Flint’s children.

“It was her phone call and I think what she did at the state level to re-look at the data . . . that really got them to change course,” the doctor testified April 24 at day 15 of Wells’ preliminary examination. “I’m grateful she was able to look at the data and to realize we did have a problem. If not for her action, I think it, the attacks and denials, would have gone on much longer.”

Hanna-Attisha summed up Flint’s situation rather succinctly: “Flint had no democracy; money was the bottom line.”

Wells is charged with involuntary manslaughter, lying to a special police agent and obstruction of justice in connection with the legionnaires’ disease outbreaks that killed 12 people and sickened nearly 80 more.

Special Prosecutor Todd Flood called the state’s last [Read More]

By JAY HANCOCK 
The Maryland Proton Treatment Center chose “Survivor” as the theme for its grand opening in 2016, invoking the reality-TV show’s tropical sets with its own Tiki torches, palm trees and thatched booths piled with pineapples and bananas.

It was the perfect motif for a facility dedicated to fighting cancer. Jeff Probst, host of CBS’ “Survivor,” greeted guests via video from a Fiji beach.

But behind the scenes, the $200 million center’s own survival was less than certain. Insurers were hesitating to cover procedures at the Baltimore facility, affiliated with the University of Maryland Medical Center. The private investors who developed the machine had badly overestimated the number of patients it could attract. Bankers would soon be owed repayment of a $170 million loan.

Only two years after it opened, the center is enduring a painful restructuring with investors poised for huge losses. It has never made money, although it has ample cash to finance operations, said Jason Pappas, its acting CEO since November. Last year it lost more than $1 million, he said.

Volume projections were “north” of the current rate of about 85 patients per day, Pappas said. How far north? “Upper Canada,” he said.

For years, health systems rushed enthusiastically into expensive medical technologies such as [Read More]

Budget Only Pays DHHS Officials’ Wages If Feds Approve Medicaid Waiver

Department of Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyon and his fellow unclassified employees would only be paid next year if the feds approve Michigan’s Medicaid expansion waiver as Republican lawmakers argue it was written, according to a Senate subcommittee spending plan approved April 17.

Sen. Mike Shirkey (R-Clarklake) and DHHS Subcommittee Chair Peter MacGregor (R-Rockford) argue the “Healthy Michigan” waivers the federal government approved do not reflect 2013 law that requires beneficiaries to pay more in co-pays and annual premiums after four years on the program.

SB 0856 puts a firm four-year cap on the Healthy Michigan program and withholds unclassified employees’ salaries unless the program that expands Medicaid to those between 100 and 133 percent of the federal poverty line follows expanded requirements.

And if Lyon and his top lieutenants don’t make that happen, $294,000 in their salaries and wages doesn’t get appropriated.

“Sometimes departments need motivation in making sure we get the best product out,” MacGregor said.

MacGregor added that he anticipates further discussion with the administration, but as he sees it, the federal waivers that allowed for the creation of Healthy Michigan doesn’t follow the state law Republicans passed. Either the law has to change, the [Read More]

By EWA MATUSZEWSKI
I’m still not done talking about the Social Determinants of Health (#SDOH). On the contrary, I’m fired up even further after the April 18 gathering at Oakland University for the conference MedNetOne Health Solutions co-presented with the Oakland University School of Health Sciences: Better Upstream Health for Better Downstream Care.

Approximately 170 kindred spirits and current and future upstreamists gathered for a full day of discussing how Michiganders can take aim at some of the key drivers of poor health by supporting (and funding) activities that mitigate negative social realities earlier in the game. An example I like to use is an individual with Type 2 diabetes whose social determinants are few economic resources, inability to purchase testing supplies and insulin, limited access to affordable, healthy food and fractured or non-existent personal support systems. Upstreamists would be called in (and reimbursed) for efforts that work to prevent the sometimes deadly and often costly disease. More intervention is needed before a crisis hits –although I’d argue the crisis is already here.

Speaking of diabetes, this offers me another opportunity to turn the conversation to one of my favorite professions on the health care continuum – pharmacists. If you’ve read this blog with any regularity, you know [Read More]

By JESSE A. MARKOS, ESQ.
Wachler & Associates, P.C.

Hospitals have long been required to file a National Practitioner Data Bank (Data Bank) report on any health care provider’s voluntary surrender of clinical privileges if an investigation is underway or to avoid an investigation. In practice, the number of such cases that were reported was limited by the uncertainty and lack of sufficient guidance regarding which specific activities qualify as an “investigation” and when such an investigation officially commenced. However, the new adoption by the revised Data Bank Guidebook of an expanded description of what qualifies as a reportable investigation has resulted in increased reporting.

By way of background, the Data Bank is an alert system that collects and discloses certain adverse information about physicians and other health care providers. An adverse report to the Data Bank can significantly impact a health care provider’s reputation and career. State licensing authorities, hospitals and other health care entities, and professional societies search the Data Bank when investigating qualifications. A response that contains an adverse report can act as a permanent black mark and result in a denial of credentialing, loss or limitation of hospital privileges, loss or limitation of licensure, exclusion from participation in health plans, and increases in [Read More]

Tim Bannister was a fun guy to have known. He even had a funny handle, “Handrail Harry,” based on his given name, Harry Bannister, and a play on words with bannister. In typical quirky fashion, “Tim” was also a nickname, the origin of which I never found out. He died April 9.

During the years I knew Tim, I often wished we were closer in age (he was 20-plus years my senior). I think given more time we would have had a blast serving clients, sharing ideas and enjoying our friendship.

I was regularly dosed with a small sample of that wished-for parity. Every client we met, including our last shortly before Tim’s death, placed him in his 50s. He was fit and looked healthy and bright-eyed, but he didn’t look particularly young. It was the energy and optimism he radiated that backdated Tim’s chronological age.

He never failed to greet me with a hearty, “Paulie, my boy!” whenever we met or talked on the phone. Even our final conversation began that way, although it quickly became apparent that was the extent of the energy he could muster.

Tim and I worked together for seven or so years, after a mutual friend brought him into a promotional project we [Read More]

By MICHELLE N. KHAZAI
A 2017 Medscape survey indicated that over half of responding doctors had been sued for malpractice. The number one reason? Failure to diagnose a medical condition, given by 31 percent of respondents. Nearly half of doctors surveyed who were sued for malpractice spent between 11 and 50 hours in court, meetings with lawyers, or in other legal proceedings. And almost half of those surveyed stated that there was no triggering event and that they were taken by surprise by the malpractice claim.

Studies published in the Journal of the American Medicine Association, Lancet, and the Archives of Internal Medicine delved into the mindset of patients who filed malpractice claims using various methods, including questionnaires, deposition transcripts, and phone surveys. Four primary reasons emerged: 1) prevention of similar incidents in the future; 2) a desire for an explanation about a harmful incident; 3) financial renumeration for pain, loss, and/or suffering or to offset future care expenses; and 4) the need to hold a doctor accountable.

At the root cause of many of these malpractice claims is a breakdown in the relationship between the physician and the patient—typically due to problems with communication. Patients complained that [Read More]

By PAUL NATINSKY
As efforts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act continue, Michigan’s Health Plans have stepped up their search for solutions to mounting complications.

The Trump White House has administratively chipped away at Obamacare’s policies, including cancelling in cost-sharing reduction (CSR) subsidies and non-enforcement of penalties consumers pay for not adhering to the ACA’s requirement that individuals buy comprehensive health insurance.

The two measures present a double whammy to health plans. The CSR payments were funds paid to insurers to offset the cost of care for individuals earning too little money to cover out-of-pocket healthcare expenses such as copays. The money totaled about $7 billion in payments to health plans nationally. It is separate from the premium assistance offered to individuals buying marketplace plans.

Not enforcing the individual mandate has several effects. First, it is likely to reduce enrollment as young, healthy people now face no financial penalty if they forego health insurance, a trend that was in place before the ACA. Fewer young and healthy people paying premiums means insurers pay a higher percentage of premium dollars to provide healthcare services and are forced to raise premiums for everyone, another trend predating the ACA.

“I will tell you in talking to my plans that are involved I the [Read More]

After almost two years of results showing Flint’s water testing below federal standards for lead, Gov. Rick Snyder announced April 6 the state will close the four remaining point of distribution (POD) centers for bottled water when the current supply runs out. Deliveries of bottled water to homebound residents will end at the same time, but residents will still be able to get free water filters and replacement cartridges at city hall.

“We have worked diligently to restore the water quality and the scientific data now proves the water system is stable and the need for bottled water has ended,” Snyder said. “For the past two years, I have repeatedly been asked when I would declare the water safe in Flint and I have always said that no arbitrary decision would be made — that we would let the science take us to that conclusion.”

Flint Mayor Karen Weaver said the available supply of bottled water is expected to be exhausted over the weekend.

“We did not cause the man-made water disaster, therefore adequate resources should continue being provided until the problem is fixed and all the lead and galvanized pipes have been replaced. I will be contacting the governor’s office immediately to express the insensitivity of the [Read More]

By EWA MATUSZEWSKI
I know I’ve lamented the proliferation of acronyms in healthcare before, but I need to discuss yet another. You’ve likely heard of Value-Added Resellers (VARs); well, I’m here to challenge the “value” component of the name as it applies to Electronic Health Records (EHR). First, here’s a quick VAR definition from Wikipedia to get you up to speed, if necessary.

We learned the hard way when a member practice’s EHR went down recently that it is wrong to assume the VAR has a back-up plan. A physician’s office is dependent on its EHR for not only patient records, but also critical practice management tools like scheduling appointments, billing, phone calls and e-prescribing. It’s like the power grid of the practice. At least when we lose power at home, we can call or text a number to find out how long the outage is expected to last, with status updates provided throughout the process.

When this member physician’s EHR was disabled, the VAR (it reminds me of the mortgage business, where mortgages are sold to third parties) offered no communication – nor proof of a disaster plan. When I repeatedly asked for one, I finally got a PDF of a copy of a generic disaster recovery [Read More]

By ERIN DIESEL ROUMAYAH, ESQ.
On Nov. 3, 2017 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals (OMHA) (the division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that administers the Medicare appeals process) announced two new settlement opportunity for Medicare Part A and Part B providers and suppliers with eligible fee-for-service appeals pending in the administrative appeals process. These new programs are the Low Volume Appeals Settlement (LVA) and the expanded Settlement Conference Facilitation program (SCF). CMS offered LVA as a lump-sum settlement offer for eligible Appellants with certain eligible appeals. SCF affords eligible Appellants an opportunity to negotiate a lump-sum settlement offer on certain eligible appeals. SCF and LVA have complimentary eligibility criteria that collectively have the opportunity to resolve nearly every Medicare Part A or Part B claim under $100,000.00 in billed charges that is pending at the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) or Medicare Appeals Council (Council) levels of the Medicare appeals process as of Nov. 3, 2017.

CMS and OMHA announced these new settlement opportunities consistent with their efforts in recent months and years to combat the backlog of appeals pending at the ALJ and Council levels of review in Medicare’s administrative appeals process. [Read More]