Last week, CMS posted on its website a statement clarifying an issue that has been much discussed in the industry -- physician recruitment agreements that predate the July 26, 2004, effective date of the Stark II, Phase II regulations (the "Regulations") must comply with the Regulations as of that date. This will impact agreements that involve physician recruits who have joined existing groups.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services ("CMS") announced recently that it plans to take a series of steps regarding Medicare coverage and payment policies that apply to power wheelchairs and power scooters based upon recent successes in reducing Medicare abuse in these areas. CMS is implementing a three-pronged approach that focuses on coverage, payment, and quality of suppliers of power wheelchairs. The new three-pronged approach is as follows: (1) CMS plans to develop additional gui

According to USA Today, Pope John Paul II recently declared that a feeding tube constitutes "basic care" for an individual in a persistent vegetative state, and that removal of the tube is "euthanasia by admission."

On March 26, 2004, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled in Northwestern Memorial Hospital v. Ashcroft that a subpoena seeking abortion records was properly quashed (i.e., nullified).

In a verdict reached March 4, 2004, a jury in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas held that St. David's Healthcare System continues to qualify as a tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ("CMS") published a 65-page instruction transmittal (Change Request 3159, Transmittal 69) on March 26, 2004, which instructs fiscal intermediaries and carriers on requirements for reviewing the CMS-855 forms.