The impact of the new ACA laws are just starting to be realized by providers, but one area that has already been dramatically affected is the expanded anti-fraud provisions and government enforcement process.
The October 18th meeting at TeqCorner in McLean, VA focused on these new provisions and the resulting enforcement priorities of federal and state government agencies, which affect all parts of the provider and vendor sides of the healthcare industry. It also included various strategies for dealing with these new challenges. Our primary speaker was Michael Ruggio, a highly experienced healthcare and litigation partner at Nelson Mullins. Michael was a Senior Trial Counsel with the Department of Justice from 1990-1997 in the complex fraud division focusing on healthcare. Over the last 15 years, he has maintained a national practice and represents hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, durable medical equipment suppliers and many other providers and manufactures in federal and state healthcare investigations and prosecutions. He was an engaging speaker and helpful counselor with deep experience in the healthcare field.
We also discussed the shifting effects of Obamacare on the federal budget negotiations and the politics and policy disputes surrounding healthcare that have now become such a focal point of national politics. In particular, there was a wide-ranging discussion of the technological reasons for the problems with the federal exchange website, along with the challenges of fixing the problems in the future.