As part of President Obama’s commitment to reducing regulatory burden, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen G. Sebelius today announced that HHS will initiate a process to postpone the date by which certain health care entities have to comply with International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition diagnosis and procedure codes (ICD-10).

The final rule adopting ICD-10 as a standard was published in January 2009 and set a compliance date of October 1, 2013 – a delay of two years from the compliance date initially specified in the 2008 proposed rule.  HHS will announce a new compliance date moving forward.

“ICD-10 codes are important to many positive improvements in our health care system,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.  “We have heard from many in the provider community who have concerns about the administrative burdens they face in the years ahead.  We are committing to work with the provider community to reexamine the pace at which HHS and the nation implement these important improvements to our health care system.”

ICD-10 codes provide more robust and specific data that will help improve patient care and enable the exchange of our health care data with that of the rest of the world that has long been using ICD-10.  Entities covered under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) will be required to use the ICD-10 diagnostic and procedure codes.

PDH Webinar #48
Energy Tax Incentives and How They Can Benefit You
Thursday, February 23, 2012
11:30am-12:30pm
1 PDH (pending)

The presentation is designed to give clarity and awareness to the engineering process involved in certification of public and private buildings as well as to heighten awareness of these tax benefits on a national scale. During this presentation, you will obtain a better understanding of the Federal Energy Policy Act (EPAct) and of how the 179D Federal Energy Tax Deductions will allow you to claim significant benefits through the use of this powerful tax law. 

Due to computer glitches generating inaccurate notices, the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance may be making erroneous penalty and interest assessments.  Consequently, it is critical for all filers to review any penalty notices they have received to ensure the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance has not made an error.  Interest and penalties can be abated if erroneously applied by the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance.  For more information, click here.

Keep in mind that this year April 15^th falls on a Sunday and this year Monday April 16^th is a recognized holiday in Washington so all filings are due by Tuesday, April 17^th.  As best practice consult with your financial advisor when filing your tax return as to avoid mistakes.

What Preventive Services are Free to Insured Patients?
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act spells out what preventive visits have “cost-sharing waived” — meaning that most insured patients are not required to shell out a co-pay or deductible to receive them.

Preventive services for children 6-36 months

• Influenza virus vaccine (preservative-free) — intramuscular use
• Influenza virus vaccine — intramuscular use

Preventive service for individuals age 2 and older

• Pneumonococcal polysaccharide vaccine — subcutaneous or intramuscular use

Preventive services for individuals age 3 and older

• Influenza virus vaccine (split, preservative-free) — intramuscular use
• Influenza virus vaccine (split) — intramuscular use

Preventive services for children younger than 5

• Pneumococcal vaccine — intramuscular use

Preventive services for children age 6 and older

• Screening and counseling for obesity

Preventive services for adolescents age 12-18

• Screening for HIV
• Hepatitis B vaccine (2-dose) — intramuscular use
• Hepatitis B vaccine (3-dose) — intramuscular use

Preventive services for women

• Screening Pap test and cervical cancer
• Counseling for tobacco

Preventive service for women 20 and older

• Screening for cholesterol abnormalities

Preventive service for women age 40-plus

• Screening for breast cancer (mammography)

Preventive service for women 65 and older

• Screening for osteoporosis

Preventive service for men non-age specific

• Screening for prostate cancer

Preventive service for men age 20-35

• Screening for cholesterol abnormalities

Preventive service for men age 35-79

• Screening for cholesterol abnormalities

Preventive service for men age 65-75

• Screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm

Preventive services for adults                                                                                               

• Screening for diabetes
• Counseling for a healthy diet
• Screening for HIV
• Screening and counseling for obesity
• Screening for glaucoma
• Screening for alcohol and/or substance abuse

Preventive service for adults age 50-75

• Screening for colorectal cancer

Preventive services for individuals non-age specific

• Influenza virus vaccine (live) — intranasal use
• Influenza virus vaccine (split, preservative-free), enhanced immunogenicity — intramuscular use
• Influenza virus administration/counseling
• Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine — intramuscular use
• Hepatitis B vaccine (3-dose schedule), dialysis or immunosuppressed patient — intramuscular use
• Hepatitis B vaccine — intramuscular use
• Hepatitis B vaccine (4-dose schedule), dialysis or immunosuppressed patient — intramuscular use
• Counseling for tobacco

Screening for cholesterol abnormalities in men is divided into two categories based on age.

Source: “CPT Code Pocket Guide: Preventive services with cost-sharing waived,” American Medical Association (www.ama-assn.org/go/cptpreventiveservices).

For additional information, please call Anne M Dunne, Director of Healthcare Consulting at Grassi & Co., 516 336-246 or email Anne directly, adunne@grassicpas.com.

On December 10, 2010, Governor Patterson signed the Wage Theft Prevention Act (“WTPA”) which took effect on April 9, 2011. The WTPA amends the New York Labor Law and is designed to prevent employers from underpaying their employees and retaining the difference.  The WTPA provides various protections to employees and penalizes employers who fail to comply with the WTPA’s requirements.  Under this Act, the cost of new employees may be more than just their salary and benefits alone.  This is particularly crucial to the Healthcare Industry especially solo providers and physician group practices without a human resource department to handle new changes such as these.

The WTPA amends Section 195 of the New York State Labor Law and requires employers to provide employees a written notice containing the following information:

• The basis of the employee’s rate(s) of pay whether it be hourly, by shift, by day, by week, by salary, by commission, or other
• Whether the employer intends to claim allowances as part of the minimum wage, including tip, meal, or lodging allowances, and the amount of those allowances
• The employee’s regular pay day designated by the employer in accordance with the frequency of pay requirements in the Labor Law
• The name of the employer and any “doing business as” names used by the employer
• The physical address of the employer’s main office or principal place of business, and a mailing address, if different
• The telephone number of the employer
• Any “such other information as the commissioner deems material and necessary.”

This notice must be provided to each new employee upon hiring.  The law requires the notice be provided at the time of hiring, annually on or before February 1st of each year of employment, and within 7 days of a change if the change is not listed on the employee’s pay stub for the following pay period   Notices need to be given in a worker’s primary language if the Department of Labor provides notice templates in that language. Otherwise, the notice need only be provided in English.  Templates are available at the NYS Department of Labor website in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Creole, Polish and Russian.  An employee cannot waive the notice requirement. The notice can be provided electronically as long as the employee can acknowledge the receipt of the notice and print out a copy. If an employee refuses to acknowledge and sign the notice, the employee’s refusal should be noted on the notice. Employers are required to retain a copy of the notice for a six year period.  Exempt employees, including professionals, executives, or administrators, are not excluded from the notice requirement.

The Act clarifies and expands the Department of Labor’s authority to enforce the Labor Law, and expands an employee’s ability to bring complaints and private actions for such violations. The protection against prohibited retaliation is strengthened by closing loopholes on what actions constitute retaliation and expands the remedies available to employees.  If an employer fails to comply and does not provide an employee with the notice within ten business days of his/her first day of employment, an action may be brought by the Commissioner of Labor or by the employee to recover damages at the rate of $50 for each work week during which the violation occurred or continues to occur, up to a maximum of $2,500 together with attorneys’ fees and costs. Employees have the right to complain to their employer, the Department of Labor, or the Attorney General about a possible violation of the Labor Law. Employees can file a complaint about these possible violations and give information about their conditions of employment to the Department of Labor or Attorney General and testify at hearings or other proceedings. If it is found that an employer retaliated against an employee because the employee complained that the employer engaged in conduct that the employee, reasonably and in good faith, believed violated any provision of the New York Labor Law, the employee may be entitled to reinstatement, back and front pay. The employee may also recover up to $10,000 in liquidated damages. Employers or their agents can be fined up to $10,000 in penalties for retaliation.

Beginning this year, all private sector employers in New York must have each of their employees sign an acknowledgement of their wage rate between January 1st and February 1st of each year. Federal, state and local government employers are not are not subject to this requirement, but charter schools, private schools, and not-for-profit corporations are. The Wage Theft Prevention Act has implications for all businesses, but particularly small business owners, such as solo healthcare providers and physician group practices who do not have a dedicated human resource department that is aware of the new requirement and can provide the support necessary for compliance. Those physicians not “in the know” may regrettably feel the pain associated with a penalty for non-compliance to the Wage Theft Protection Act.

                      **SPECIAL ANNOUCEMENT**
Please join us for breakfast followed by an informative seminar on mergers and acquisitions in the healthcare industry.  The event will be Thursday, February 7^th from 8:00-9:30 a.m.  There will be a question and answer session at the end.  If there are other related questions or topics you would like to discuss, please email your inquiries to marketing@grassicpas.com.  Please send your RSVPs to marketing@grassicpas.com as well.