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CCH® Health Care Compliance Integrated Library
The Health Care Compliance Integrated Library delivers the latest information on health law. The Library includes seven invaluable titles:

• Civil False Claims and Qui Tam Actions - An essential tool for bringing or defending Qui Tam action.
• Clinical Research Compliance Manual: An Administrative Guide - Essential guidance on the laws and regulations affecting clinical research and trials.
• Defending and Preventing Health Care Fraud and Abuse Cases: An Attorney's Guide - Clear, expert guidance on protecting against charges of health care fraud and abuse.
• Health Care Fraud and Abuse Compliance Manual - Giving health care providers a clear perspective on fraud and abuse laws, written in plain-language.
• Health Law and Compliance Update - Find the latest information on emerging issues. Each section is authored by an expert in the area and includes in-depth analysis of the latest health law and compliance issues.
• Hospital Contracts Manual - Expert, current know-how in dealing with numerous hospital contract scenarios.
• Hospital Law Manual - Health Law expertise covering treatment and payment issues in the delivery of health care services.

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The CCH HIPAA Security Guide quarterly updates incorporate the latest HIPAA-related legal developments and regulatory issues into the Guide, providing easily understood explanations and analyses. Report 19 mailed to print subscribers on April 16, 2008, and will be available to electronic subscribers on the same day. The update includes:

• In Chapter I-1, Introduction, C. Enforcement—
• A Health Information Privacy/Security Alert, in which the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) said it received 32,487 complaints through December 31 since the program started in April 2003, represented a 12% increase over 2006.
• A discussion of the HHS proposed rule recommending changes in the regulations governing administrative review by the HHS Departmental Appeals Board to allow the secretary to review final decisions and to correct errors in the application of law or deviation from published guidance.
• In Chapter I-1, Introduction, E. Special Challenges—
• Discussion of a recent survey of chief information officers in which 84 percent of respondents reported that their facilities were currently using some form of wireless information system. According to the survey, sponsored by ACS Healthcare Solutions, wireless networks continue to be the technology that most respondents would like to implement in their facilities in the next two years.

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Providers that make appropriate disclosures under the Office of Inspector General's (OIG's) self-disclosure protocol (SDP) will have the benefit of a presumption against imposition of corporate integrity agreements (CIAs) and certification of compliance agreements (CCAs), according to an open letter to health care providers issued by Inspector General Daniel R. Levinson on April 15, 2008. The letter, which refines the requirements for participation in the SDP, "emphasizes the Office of Inspector General's (OIG's) commitment to streamline its internal process for self-disclosure case resolution," the OIG said in a related press release. OIG Press Release, April 15, 2008; Open Letter to Health Care Providers, April 15, 2008, Health Care Compliance Reporter p530,666. Full Story

Draft instructions for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) 2008 Form 990, Return of Organizations Exempt from Income Tax, "provide some much needed clarification to those that exist now," according to Greg Goller, partner in charge of Grant Thornton LLP's not-for-profit tax practice. "For example, ratable reporting of nonvested deferred compensation...seems reasonable to me. The draft instructions also seem to increase awareness of the rules by providing practical guidance about particular areas of tax compliance. For example, political activities include those conducted by disregarded entities or entities taxed as partnerships," he added. CCH Washington Bureau, April 7-8, 2008. Full Story

New reporting options "will make it easier for eligible professionals to participate [in the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI)] and receive feedback on their performance," according to CMS. In late 2007, Congress made changes to the PQRI with the passage of the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act (PubLNo 110-173) (Extension Act), which provided new flexibility for submitting data and implemented registry-based reporting. These changes "will ultimately improve the services provided...[b]y providing more opportunities to submit information about the quality of care provided to Medicare beneficiaries," CMS Acting Administrator Kerry Weems said. CMS Press Release, April 17, 2008. Full Story

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee leaders urged Congress to consider and pass a bill to expand and standardize information technology (IT) in the health care arena. "We can save thousands of lives and conserve billions of dollars for health care…and we can do it this year," Committee Chairman Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) said at an April 2, 2008, forum hosted by the Business Roundtable, a Washington D.C.-based association of chief executive officers of U.S. companies. CCH Washington Bureau, April 4, 2008. Full Story

CMS is in the process of implementing the proposed next version of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) electronic data interchange (EDI) transactions--referred to as "HIPAA-2." CMS Web site, April 22, 2008. Full Story

Touro Infirmary, a New Orleans hospital, has agreed to pay the United States $1.75 million to settle allegations that it submitted false claims to the Medicare program in violation of the Federal False Claims Act, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced. DOJ News Release, April 17, 2008. Full Story

CMS is requesting comments on two alternative proposals to address the "stand in the shoes" provisions described in the Stark Phase III final rule published in the Federal Register on September 5, 2007 (73 FR 51012), according to an advance release of the fiscal year 2009 inpatient prospective payment system Proposed rule. CMS Release, April 14, 2008, Health Care Compliance Reporter p730,036. Full Story

HIPAA privacy and security rule update: Tougher enforcement expected in 2008

by Laura J. Merisalo, Contributing Editor

This month marks the fifth year of enforcement of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy rule, and the third year of enforcement of the HIPAA security rule, each of which has patient access implications. Full Story