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Fraud and Abuse, Medicare Top Health Law Issues in 2006, says BNA Survey of Top Health Law Attorneys

NEWS RELEASE

Contacts:
Karen James Cody,
BNA - Press Contact

Washington, DC (January 6, 2006) – Fraud and abuse will be the top health law issue in the coming year because of its pervasive effect on all sectors of the health care delivery system, according to an informal survey of health law attorneys by BNA's Health Law Reporter™.

From the direct effect the anti-kickback and Stark laws have on provider relationships, Medicare billings, and the adoption of health information technology, to the indirect effects on the myriad complex and ever-evolving economic transactions in the health care industry, fraud and abuse enforcement edged out Medicare, with its new mammoth Part D program, for the top survey spot.

The funding and rollout of health information technologies and systems ranked third on the list of dominant health law issues for 2006, followed closely by tax and corporate governance , which were linked by many survey respondents because of their obvious interrelationship and common external focus on compensation, conflicts of interest, and board autonomy. The Medicaid program, whose financial pressures continue to increase providers' costs of care to the poor and uninsured, ranked fifth.

Rounding out the list of top issues for 2006 are quality of care, provider regulation, antitrust litigation, health plan regulation, and public health.

The 27-member panel was surveyed in December 2005.

Press copies of the full report are available to working journalists. Call (202) 452-4169 or send an email to: presscontact@bna.com.

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