GOVERNMENTNews in brief - March 22, 2010FTC appeals ruling on identity theft - Medicare terminates Fox Insurance contract FTC appeals ruling on identity theftThe Federal Trade Commission has challenged a court ruling that, if it stands, could give physicians some relief from regulations requiring implementation of formal identity theft prevention programs by June 1. In February, the FTC appealed a December 2009 ruling by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that found the agency exceeded its authority in enforcing its "red flags" rule against lawyers. The American Bar Assn., which initiated the litigation, noted in a statement that the appellate court upheld a similar ruling against the FTC once before. The American Medical Association and other health care organizations petitioned the commission in January to apply the district court ruling to the health care industry. Physicians have expressed concerns that the mandate, which is unfunded, will unnecessarily burden doctors practices. At this article's deadline, no hearing dates had been set. Medicare terminates Fox Insurance contractThe Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has announced that it terminated its contract with Fox Insurance Co. due to a series of violations by the firm, including improperly denying its enrollees coverage of HIV, cancer and seizure medications. The more than 123,000 beneficiaries who relied on Fox for prescription drugs will be able to obtain them through Limited Income NET, a program run by Medicare and administered by Humana. CMS issued an enrollment and marketing sanction to Fox on Feb. 26, saying the company was not following the rules for providing prescription drug coverage, the agency said. Among other compliance concerns, an onsite audit found that beneficiaries were required to have had invasive medical procedures before being able to obtain prescription drugs. CMS announced the contract termination March 9. The Fox plan was available to beneficiaries in 21 states. The insurer could not be reached for comment. This content was published online only. Copyright 2010 American Medical Association. All rights reserved. |
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