Summary and comments on recent article from www.physicianspractice.com.

With the Affordable Care Act you are now required to implement a formal compliance program. If you want to participate in Medicare/Medicaid, you should start to prepare now.  We are waiting for details about the requirement and date of enforcement, but many proactive steps can be taken now.

It must be an active compliance program “not just written standards and procedures that sit on a shelf in the main office of the practice, but are part of your everyday operations.”

Health care is one of the most highly regulated businesses in the United States and compliance is the biggest risk area for physician practices.

False Claims Act: if you take more than 60 days to report and return overpayments from Medicare/other Federal Programs, you can face civil charges, even if the overpayment was caused by error.  Subsequently, this increases the risk of a whistleblower suit against your practice.

Please be aware of new requirements and make an effort to narrow the gap between government expectations and reality.