Healthicity Blog

Nick Merkin, CEO of Compliagent, chatted with me from his home in sunny California about compliance from an attorney’s perspective. Merkin, a lawyer by training, spent the first ten years of his career in healthcare law, primarily in litigation defense. So he knows a thing or two about how to keep...

At the end of 2016 I posted a blog about the unsealing of an indictment of 21 individuals allegedly involved in a $40 million bribe and kickback scheme involving Forest Park Medical Center Dallas (FPMC).

Last week, the OIG posted a report of their Medicare Compliance Review of the University of Florida Health Jacksonville Hospital. This is the most recent of many similar reports.

We hear a lot about fraud and abuse involving the Medicare program, and rightfully so. But because Medicaid programs are state-run, we may not hear of Medicaid issues unless they are in the news, in the state we live or work in.

A few months ago, we conducted a survey of 1,200 healthcare executives. Some of the challenges reflected in the survey might be the very things that are currently keeping you up at night.

If you’re anything like me, you are really looking forward to the HCCA’s annual Compliance Institute this month in National Harbor, MD. In addition to seeing colleagues and networking, it’s a great place to hear multiple perspectives on healthcare compliance.

President Trump’s words might lead us to believe we’re heading towards an “anti-regulation” future. But I think the foundations of compliance programs will remain intact.

The DOJ recently published this document, which provides additional insight into their practices of evaluating compliance programs.