This document discusses several key legal and regulatory issues related to healthcare privacy, security, and billing standards. It covers federal laws like HIPAA, Medicare, and the False Claims Act. HIPAA established standards for electronic health transactions, privacy of health information, and security of health data. The document also discusses forms of Medicare fraud like unbundling codes, overpayments, provider liability, and the National Correct Coding Initiative to prevent unbundling. It provides an overview of administrative simplification efforts and unique identifiers required under HIPAA.
The health insurance specialist must know about the different guidelines and regulations for maintaining patient records and processing health insurance claims Federal laws and regulations affect health care in government programs like Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, and Federal Employees Health Benefit Plans. State laws regulate recordkeeping practices and provider licensing of insurance companies and state workers’ compensation plans.
Privacy right of individuals to keep their information from being disclosed to others Confidentiality restricting patient information access to those with proper authorization and maintaining the security of patient information Security – safekeeping of patient information by Controlling access to hard copy and computerized records Protecting patient information from alteration, destruction, tampering, or loss Providing employee training in confidentiality of patient information Requiring employees to sign a confidentiality statement that details the consequences of not maintaining patient confidentiality Breach of confidentiality – the unauthorized release of patient information to a third party Discussing patient information in public places Leaving patient information unattended Communicating patient information to family members without the patient’s consent Publicly announcing patient information in a waiting room or registration area Accessing patient information without a job-related reason
Medicare Administrative Contractors Oversee the processing of Parts A and B to consolidate claims processing by one carrier. False Claims Act Regulates the behavior of any contractor who submits claims for expense to the federal government for any program. Federal Anti-Kickback Law Protects patients from fraud and neglect by curtailing the corrupting influence of money on health care choices Utilization Review Act Facilitated ongoing assessment and management of health care services; Required hospitals to perform continued-stay reviews; To determine medical requirement and appropriateness of Medicare and Medicaid inpatient hospitalizations McKinney Act Provides health care to the homeless OBRA 1989 Physician self-referral law (Stark I) Prohibited physicians from referring Medicare patients to clinical laboratory services in which the physicians or their family members had a financial ownership/investment interest or compensation arrangement OBRA 1989 1994 added waiving of copayments, deductibles, and coinsurance as unlawful—results in False claims; Violations of the anti-kickback statute; Excessive use of items/services paid by Medicare PATH Audits implemented to examine billing practices at teaching facilities; Focus was on two issues: Compliance with Medicare rules affecting payment for physician services provided by residents and whether level of service was coded and billed properly CCI Developed by CMS to trim down Medicare program expenditures by detecting out-of-place codes on claims and rejecting payment for them HIPAA Mandated administrative simplification regulations that govern privacy, security, and electronic transaction standards for health care information SCHIP Health insurance program for newborns, children, and youth ; covers health care services such as physician visits, prescription medicine, and hospitalizations Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act Provides Medicare recipients with prescription drug savings and additional health care plan choices
Limiting exclusions for preexisting medical conditions Providing credit for prior health coverage Providing new rights to enroll for health coverage when health coverage is lost Prohibiting discrimination in enrollment and premiums Guaranteeing availability of health insurance coverage Preserving, through narrow preemption provisions, the states’ traditional role in regulating health insurance Creates national standards to protect individuals’ medical records and other personal health information Gives patients greater access to their own medical records and more control over how their personal health information is used Adopts standards and safeguards to protect health information that is collected, maintained, used, or transmitted electronically
HIPAA also mandates that health insurance claims be retained for two years after a patient’s death
HIPAA defines fraud as “an intentional deception or misrepresentation.” The difference between fraud and abuse is individual’s intent. Examples of abuse include: Excessive charges for services Services not medically necessary Improper billing practices A person found guilty of fraud can face civil penalties, imprisonment and/or administrative sanctions
If reimbursed funds exceed the amount a provider or beneficiary were supposed to receive Waiver of Recovery Overpayment discovered subsequent to the third calendar year after the payment year Overpaid physician is found to be without fault or is deemed without fault
Providers are responsible for reimbursement of overpayment when Incorrect reasonable charge determination Provider received duplicate payments Receiving a payment after accepting a assignment and beneficiary receives payment and remits to provider Provider receives two payments: One from Medicare and another from a workers’ compensation or automobile carrier Liability Overpayment was made because of a mathematical or clerical error. Provider does not submit documentation to substantiate services. Overpayment for rental of DME billed under the one-time authorization procedure Medically Unlikely Edits Established by Medicare for CPT or HCPCS level II codes Maximum number of units of service (UOS) under most circumstances allowable by the same provider for the same beneficiary on the same date of service
Unbundling occurs when one service is divided into its component parts and a code for each component part is reported as if they were separate services A code for the separate surgical approach (e.g., laparotomy) is reported in addition to a code for the surgical procedure
General penalty for failure to comply: Wrongful disclosure of individually identifiable health information: Wrongful disclosure offense Offense under false pretenses Offense with intent to sell information
Electronic Health Care Transactions Establishes a uniform language for electronic data interchange (EDI) HIPAA required payers to implement
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