Posts Tagged ‘telemedicine’
Marketer Charged in $64M Kickback Scheme
A north Florida man recently was charged for his part in a $64 million scheme to pay illegal kickbacks involving pharmacies, telemedicine companies and doctors. According to the complaint, James D. Feeley of Navarre, Fla. and his partner Mark Belter of Ohio operated a purported marketing company for pharmacies that generated signed prescriptions that its…
Read MoreBoca Man Admits to Selling MD Orders
A Boca Raton man has pleaded guilty to conspiracy and kickback charges for his role in selling fraudulent doctors’ orders to others, who used them to obtain at least $25 million in fraudulent payments from Medicare. According to information filed in the case, Nagaindra Srivastav was the owner of B2B Apps Solutions, a Tampa-based company.…
Read MoreTexas MD Faces Significant Prison Time for TRICARE Fraud
A Texas physician faces significant time behind bars after being convicted of engaging in a scheme to fraudulently bill TRICARE, for toxicology and genetic tests that were not provided as represented and/or were medically unnecessary. TRICARE is the healthcare program for uniformed service members, retirees, and their families, Dr. Sekhar Rao, a vascular and interventional…
Read MoreHere’s What’s Being Done to Increase Access to Telehealth
Last month, a new piece of bipartisan legislation that would extend certain telehealth services covered by Medicare and evaluate the impact of telehealth services on Medicare beneficiaries, was introduced by Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Todd Young (R-IN). “By extending the current telehealth waivers by two years after the end of the COVID-19 PHE…
Read MoreFacebook to Crackdown on Prescription Drug Advertisement
You’re scrolling through Facebook and up pop ads for medications used to treat everything from ADHD to HIV. You may wonder, why am I seeing these ads? It could be because of your age, or that you live in a certain zip code, or you may have visited a site for a similar drug or…
Read MoreDME Owners Face Stiff Prison Sentence in Kickback Case
The owners and operators of two Dallas, Texas-based durable medical equipment companies recently were convicted of one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive healthcare kickbacks and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. They now face up to 25 years behind bars. Leah and Michael Hagen, owners…
Read MoreAs Telehealth Waivers Expire, Now What?
Telehealth waivers issued during the COVID-19 pandemic that loosened government regulations and reimbursement requirements have or will be coming to an end in many states. In Florida, Gov. Ron Desantis’ executive order declaring a public health emergency expired on June 26. Waivers allowed for the use of non-compliant platforms such a FaceTime. The Florida waiver…
Read MoreTelehealth Program to Award Another $250M to Providers
Late last month, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a report and order to set up a second round of funding to the COVID-19 Telehealth Program. It will provide nearly $250 million to support efforts by healthcare providers to address coronavirus by providing telecommunications services, information services, and devices needed to enable the provision of…
Read MoreAs Telehealth Use Skyrockets CMS Expands Payment List
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced that more than 34.5 million services were delivered via telehealth to patients in Medicare and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) from March through June. That equates to an approximately 2,632 percent jump compared to the same period in 2019. However, CMS noted that since…
Read MorePandemic Poses HIPAA Compliance Issues for Providers
You’re seeing a patient virtually via telemedicine when suddenly a family member walks into the room and can be seen going about their business, picking up laundry, getting keys to the car, grabbing a snack from the refrigerator, what have you. What to do? It’s a scenario that recently played out not once, but twice,…
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