Media Mentions
2007
Timothy P. Blanchard was quoted in the June 29, 2007 issue of Health Information Compliance Insider in an article regarding organizations integrating their HIPAA compliance programs into their overall compliance programs. “It doesn’t make sense to have your HIPAA effort in a separate silo from the rest of the organization. As money gets tight, an organization can look for efficiencies in overhead areas like compliance,” Mr. Blanchard said.
Timothy Blanchard was quoted in the June 25 issue of Report on Medicare Compliance in an article regarding OIG dropping the rule on exclusion when Medicare charges exceed those to private payers. “It became clear that it might not be good for the public or the programs if the rule were vigorously enforced because of likely unintended consequences affecting some providers that are part of the safety net,” Mr. Blanchard said.
Timothy Blanchard was quoted in the February 5 issue of Health Law 360 in an article regarding new regulations mandating that companies educate their employees about detecting and reporting Medicaid fraud to the government. "It's discouraging, in a way, that the government has been unwilling to wait and monitor the effect of legislation. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. If every employee blows a whistle externally then providers have no way to improve compliance in the normal course of doing business. You'd spend your time dealing with past practices," Mr. Blanchard said.
2006
Timothy Blanchard was listed as one of Nightingale's Healthcare News' "Outstanding Fraud & Compliance Lawyers--2006" in the May issue.
Timothy P. Blanchard, Health, Reimbursement/Fraud & Abuse
Timothy Blanchard has been listed as one of Nightingale's Healthcare News' "Outstanding Fraud & Compliance Lawyers -- 2006" in the May issue. Tim was recognized for his focus on healthcare regulatory issues, including Medicare and Medicaid billing and payment, healthcare compliance programs, HIPAA privacy, fraud and abuse audits and investigations, managed care, and utilization review.
Timothy P. Blanchard, Health, Reimbursement/Fraud & Abuse
2005
Timothy Blanchard was quoted in the July issue of Report on Medicare Compliance in the article "As Medical Necessity Heats Up, Consider More Monitoring, Documentation Prompts." "The issue of medical necessity [for hospitals] is a sleeping giant," Mr.Blanchard said. "If you didn't think the government would enforce against a hospital in a very serious way, the wake-up call was the case against United Memorial Hospital" which pleaded guilty to wire fraud for billing Medicare for medically unnecessary pain management. Mr. Blanchard said some services, such as psychiatric and behavioral health, are more vulnerable to lack of medical necessity contentions because the signs and symptoms establishing the need to perform them are "more subjective than objective."
Timothy P. Blanchard, Health, Managed Care
Timothy Blanchard was quoted in the May 2 issue of CD-9/CPT Coding Pro in its Special Report "Coding Compliance Hotspots: A Legal Panel Q&A," which paraphrased a panel discussion on coding compliance tips from the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) annual conference in April 2005.
Timothy P. Blanchard, Health, Managed Care
2004
The article "Medical Necessity Selected as 2005 Colloquium Topic," in the April 2004 issue of AHLA Health Lawyers News discusses how "medical necessity" will be the focus of the Association's eight Public Interest Colloquium in the spring of 2005. Timothy Blanchard developed an in-depth analysis of medical necessity that guided the committee's deliberations on the topic.
2002
Timothy Blanchard was mentioned in the May 30 issue of Palisadian-Post as a recipient of Public Counsel's annual, "Outstanding Advocates of the Year."
Timothy Blanchard was mentioned in the February 1 issue of Healthcare Financial Management in regard to being named, "Outstanding Advocate in Public Counsel’s Community Development Project," Los Angeles.
2001
Timothy Blanchard was quoted in the March 15 issue of BNA’s Health Law Reporter in regard to the exclusion of more than 18,000 people and organizations from participation in Medicare and Medicaid health care programs.
