Healthcare providers face substantial legal challenges under new the Affordable Care Act. Sweeping reforms have created a demand for healthcare law specialists. As a result, the specialty currently represents the fastest growing law practice in the United States. The health law field presently exists at the precipice of enormous change. Care providers must manage the legal implications that come with networked electronic health records (EHRs) and payment based on patient outcomes. Problems also arise due to patients travelling solely for specialized treatment and growing pains attributable to newly merged and acquired healthcare organizations. These factors and more contribute to increasing litigation involving fraud, insurance disbursements …show more content…
[2] The law requires care providers to deliver medical services despite patients’ ability to pay. The act outlines specific guidelines for providers that deliver emergency services. If a patient has a medical emergency, such as an injury or active birth, the law obligates caregivers to stabilize the patient and provide treatment up to the point where the patient remains stabilized. If the care provider cannot deliver this service, the law mandates that the provider transfer the patient to a capable facility. The Stark Law The Stark Law bars care providers from referring a patient to a peer or family member on most standard occasions. [3] The laws does provide for specific exceptions. Additionally, the law prohibits Medicare claims for such referrals. The Stark Law covers primary care provider referrals for specific health services and does not require prosecutors to prove intent for overpayments. However, prosecutors must prove intent for intentional violations involving punitive recovery. This law applies to civil cases and exposes violators to False Claims Act culpability. The act covers payment issued by Medicare and …show more content…
The law also exposes offenders to civil repercussions such as False Claims Act culpability and up to $50,000 per offense. Legislators have made limited exceptions to this rule called “voluntary safe harbors.” The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act Legislators created the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act to promote effective technology implementation among care providers. [4] In part, the act addresses privacy and security of electronic health records. The act also reinforces parts of the civil and criminal sections of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The act outlines four liability levels, each with increased punitive responses. The minimum penalty increases greatly between each level, with the maximum recourse amounting to one and a half million dollars. Offenders that violate the law unknowingly initially receive the lowest fine and the opportunity to correct the offense in 30-days to avoid fines altogether. The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of
maximum of 15 years in prison. Sentencing was expected to be announced at a later date
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the electronic health record mandate. Who started it and when? I will discuss the goals of the mandate. I will discussion will how the Affordable Care Act ties into the mandate of Electronic Health Record. It will describe my own facility’s EHR and what steps are been taken to implement it. I will describe the term “meaningful use,” and it will discuss possible threats to patient confidentiality and the what’s being done by my facility to prevent Health Information and Portability Accountability Act or HIPAA violations.
Regulation placed upon the healthcare system only seek to improve safety and security of the patients we care for. The enactment of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) and the enactment of Meaningful Use Act the United States government has set strict regulations on the security of health information and has allotted for stricter penalties for non-compliance. The advancement of electronic health record (EHR) systems has brought greater fluidity and compliance with healthcare but has also brought greater security risk of protected information. In order to ensure compliance with government standards organizations must adapt
There are three categories of punishment if an violates the federal health care law are: 1) Civil penalties. 2) civil money penitentiaries. 3: sanctions
Economic sanction: An offender is required to pay a fine or restitution to the victim, or do community service.
Some federal statutes address fraud in government health care programs, and many of these laws vary considerably (Krause 2004). Some of these laws specifically target health care fraud. Example of the laws that the government direct at inappropriate health care activities includes the “Medicare and Medicaid Anti-Kickback Statute and Ethics in Patient Referrals Act (EPRA).”
It is difficult to picture a city or town without a park or a playground for everyone to enjoy free of charge. This thought is not as far fetched, as some might believe. The massive movement for communities to provide public lands for relaxation, leisure and play has its roots in the Progressive Reforms around the turn of the twentieth century. The congestion of urban centers and the fading concept of child labor creates unintended consequences such as an increase in crime, lack of natural landscape and no place for children to play. To combat this problem cities across the country begin the process of implementing government inspired play to replace the open country that children generations before used as their playground.
The ARRA includes the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, which pursues to improve American Healthcare and patient care through an extraordinary investment in Healthcare IT (HIT). The requirements of the HITECH Act are precisely designed to work jointly to provide the necessary assistance and technical operation to providers, enable grammatical relation and organization within and among states, establish connectivity in case of emergencies, and see to it the workforce is properly trained and equipped to be meaningful users of certified Electronic Health Records (EHRs). These computer software products are designed collaboratively to intensify the footing for every American to profit from an electronic health record (EHR) as part of a modernized, interrelated, and vastly improved grouping of care delivery.
Decisions: The ones convicted were given sentences of $ 10 fine up to five days in jail or $100 fine up to thirty days in jail.
The penalties consist of civil and criminal for civil violations it can cost up to 100.00 each violation, and 25,000 a year. Criminal penalties range up to 50,000 and one year in prison for some offences. So there are some penalties the Office for Civil Rights can impose. Numbers show that many
(4) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable, on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for life.”
May seek care, but not pay the cost-sharing portion at time of service (collections by provide)
The punishment prescribed by the statute is a fine for both individuals and companies. For individuals, the criminal penalties may include up to $250,000 in fines per violation and up to 5 years in prison and civil penalties of up to $16,000 per violation. For companies, the criminal penalties may include a fine up to $2 million per violation and civil penalties up to $16, 000 per violation. Moreover, employees are not permitted to pay the fines of their employees or agents. Nevertheless, the Alternative Fines Act allows for fines up to twice the amount of any benefit obtained by the defendant who made the corrupt payment, and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines are used to decipher the appropriate fine amounts. Furthermore, companies found liable under the FCPSA may also face suspension or be permanently prevented from contracting with the federal government and in some cases, lose export privileges. An individual could be imprisoned for ten years for a violation, and both individuals and the company face unlimited fines for violating FCPA provisions.
Penalties under the EEA of 1996 if a person is found guilty can be fined up to $500 thousand and serve 10 years in jail. A company can be fined up to five million but if it serves to benefit, a foreign country or a foreign agent fines are up to $10 million and up to 15 years in jail.
Penalties can be consist of payment to attorneys’ fees occurred in the lawsuit or some other fine to community to settle the dispute