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| 01.30.08 | CMS Proposes a Zero-Premium Bid Option That Would Allow PDP Sponsors to Retain Their Enrolled Full-Subsidy Beneficiaries
Abstract: The Medicare Part D Rule may be amended, before the June 2, 2008 annual premium bid submission deadline, to allow Part D prescription drug plan (PDP) sponsors to elect a zero-premium bid option for their basic prescription drug coverage to retain the full-subsidy Medicare beneficiaries already enrolled in their PDPs. The proposed amendment, published by CMS on January 8, 2008 at 73 Federal Register 1301 (and corrected on January 29, 2008 at 73 Federal Register 5270), is intended to result in at least five PDP sponsors per Part D Region offering PDPs in which full-subsidy beneficiaries may be enrolled in basic prescription drug coverage without incurring beneficiary premium. CMS expects to adopt the proposed amendment on March 28, 2008 so that the zero-premium bid option is available for the PDP premium bid submissions due on June 2, 2008. The public comment period for the proposed amendment ends on March 3, 2008. |
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| 01.18.08 | Learn How to Determine Whether Leave to Care for a Family Member Qualifies Under FMLA
Professional Roofing Magazine
Jason C. Kim
Abstract: Understanding, interpreting and administering the provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) continues to challenge many employers. A specific problem area employers have been grappling with involves determining when an employee is eligible for FMLA leave to care for a family member. Neal Gerber Eisenberg Labor & Employment Practice Group partner Jason C. Kim co-authored a January 2008 Professional Roofing Magazine article.
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| 01.16.08 | Key Elements of a Good ERP Implementation
Database Trends and Applications
Amir Azaran
Abstract: The benefits of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software can be alluring to any organization. ERP software can increase business process efficiency and reduce Sarbanes-Oxley reporting burdens, and new ERP implementations are correlated with increased share prices. Unfortunately, 90 percent of ERP implementations are late or more costly than first anticipated. Neal Gerber Eisenberg partner and Information Technology Practice Group member Amir Azaran co-authored this article that appears in the January 2008 edition of Database Trends and Applications.
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| 01.10.08 | Medicare Part D Drives 2006 Medicare Spending Higher -- Reduces Medicaid, Out-of-Pocket Costs
American Health Lawyers Association Practice Group Alert
Stephanie B. Vasconcellos
Abstract: On January 8, 2008, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released volumes of national healthcare spending data, including the final figures on 2006 expenditures and projections for spending over the next decade. Medicare spending increased 18.7% to $401.3 billion in 2006, up from $338 billion in 2005. This spending increase is attributable largely to Medicare's 2006 implementation of the Part D prescription drug benefit. Neal Gerber Eisenberg Health Law Practice Group member Stephanie B. Vasconcellos co-authored an article appearing in the January 10, 2008 American Health Lawyers Association Practice Group Alert that was distributed to the Association's Medicare Part D Task Force Members.
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| 12.26.07 | CMS to Intensify TrOOP Compliance and Data-Sharing Enforcement to Respond to OIG Report
Abstract: Sponsors of Medicare Part D prescription drug plans and sponsors of employee- and retiree-benefit plans with data-sharing agreements with CMS should anticipate substantially more vigorous CMS oversight and enforcement of their obligations during 2008, as a result of a recent report by the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services. That report found ineffective tracking and reporting by Part D plans of their enrollees' true out-of-pocket--or TrOOP--expenditures, and incomplete reporting by benefit plans with data-sharing agreements of their enrollees' drug coverage information. Prudent sponsors of Part D plans and of benefit plans with data-sharing agreements may want to test their data verification and reporting processes regarding TrOOP and coordination of benefits now, before a CMS audit, to ensure accuracy and completeness of their data submissions. |
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