Tag: Matthew Fischer
Legal round up: What is price gouging?
June 29, 2020Liz Beaulieu, Editor
MIAMI - Amid the coronavirus pandemic, health care attorney Matthew Fischer has found himself advising clients on matters like pivoting their business to selling PPE.“I have clients whose business has dropped off and they're surviving doing other things,” said Fischer, a partner at Zumpano Patricios. “I have some clients who are selling PPE to keep themselves afloat.”Fischer's helping these clients to negotiate with companies in China and find transport to the U.S.—all...
Legal analysis: Agree to pre-negotiate
April 6, 2020Matthew Fischer
Q. What concepts should parties consider when entering into contract modifications due to COVID-19?A. If not already, in the coming weeks, parties will be approached by fellow contracting parties financially impacted by the COVID-19 virus. Whether it's a landlord/tenant issue (e.g. extensions or default in rent payments), a lender/borrower issue (e.g. extensions or default in mortgage payments or required maintenance) or a business contract issue (e.g. lack of supply or failure to perform as...
Legal Analysis: Seek counsel for business arrangements
March 11, 2020Matthew Fischer
Q. I continue to hear about prosecutions by the Department of Justice of DME companies involved in telemedicine. What should I know?A. Almost one year ago, the DOJ initiated prosecutions into one of the largest healthcare fraud cases in history that resulted in substantial losses and charges against numerous executives of telemedicine and DME companies. The schemes involved the payment of illegal kickbacks and bribes by DME companies in exchange for medical providers to refer Medicare beneficiaries...
Legal Analysis: Review work plan updates
February 12, 2020Matthew Fischer
Q. As a Medicare supplier, what are the key risk areas that regulators are currently evaluating?A. The best place to start when being proactive is to review the latest work plan updates issued by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The mission of the OIG is to protect the integrity of federal healthcare programs, as well as their beneficiaries, by detecting and preventing fraud, waste and abuse. These efforts are demonstrated in...
Legal Update: Establish social media policy
January 8, 2020Matthew Fischer
Q. Is it possible to commit a HIPAA violation when using social media?A. Yes. Suppliers should be aware of the intersection of social media and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Problems can arise with even innocent responses containing a patient's protected health information (PHI) on social media.To better highlight this issue, let's review the latest enforcement action by the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR), the government body...
Q&A: Atty Matthew Fischer on appeals
October 28, 2019Liz Beaulieu, Editor
MIAMI - Matthew Fischer, a former senior attorney adviser for the Office Medicare Hearings and Appeals, has seen the ugliness of the appeals backlog from the inside. Here's what Fischer, now an attorney with the Zumpano Patricios, had to say about how to work a flawed system.
HME News: What did the appeals system look like from the inside?
Matthew Fischer: When I got there in 2011, I'd be looking at cases from two or three years ago. I thought, what is going on? They just didn't...