From the May 2, 2019 Department of Justice Press Release:  ​A 46-year-old Houston man has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.  Full Press Release can be found here www.justice.gov/usao-sdtx/pr/ambulance-owner-sent-prison-health-care-fraud

Firm founding member, Kevin Fairlie, will be presenting the annual update at this year's premiere EMS conference for the nation's EMS leaders - Pinnacle 2018

Follow the link here to register for Pinnacle 2018 and participate in its many leaderships sessions including the Legal Update described as : "Each year Pinnacle addresses current legal issues, recent cases and legal strategies for EMS leaders. This session will cover new developments in EMS and healthcare law, including new regulations, medical decision-making, risk management, workplace conduct, healthcare compliance and other timely topics."

Mr. Fairlie will lead a 3 hour discussion covering the increased scrutiny of fire based EMS services by the DOJ and OIG as it relates to Medicare fraud as well as the changing reimbursement landscape for EMS providers.  More information can be found at the Missouri Association of Fire Chiefs website.

Historically, when it came to EMS services, most of the scrutiny from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) was focused on non-emergency basic life support transports.  2017 has seen a significant shift from this previous trend.  Read the full article in the Fall 2017 issue of EMS Connection.

  Kevin will lead three one hour sessions covering timely employment law issues including the proper handling of internal investigations, social media in the EMS workplace and changing drug laws.  Joining Kevin in these sessions will be attorney J.P. Hasman.  J.P. is a shareholder in the St. Louis office of Ogletree, Deakins where he counsels and defends employers regarding all aspects of the employment relationship.   More information on the sessions is below.

 Proper Handling of Internal Investigations

• What types of issues require investigation?
• Steps to take – outline of a proper investigation
  • Who – who should conduct and who should you speak to?
  • What – what is the focus of the investigation and how to handle new information that might lead to new investigations
  • Where – in person? By phone? Skype?
  • When – as soon as possible
  • How – written statements/affividavits? Video? Written questions and answers?
• Follow-up and re-interviews
• Document, document, document

Social Media in the EMS Workplace – Risks and How to Avoid Them

• Best practices for HR policies
• Enforcement and discipline
• Patient privacy – the intersection of social media and HIPAA

Changing Drug Laws and the Impact on Employment Drug Testing and Enforcement

• Pre-employment drug testing
• Random testing
• Post-Accident testing

Mr. Fairlie is again a featured contributor to the "Legal Corner" in this month's EMS Connections magazine.  You can read his thoughts on the future of regulatory oversight for EMS Agencies and find the full article at EMS Connections

Fairlie Law Managing Member, Kevin Fairlie, will be speaking again at the nation's leading conference for EMS leaders.  Mr. Fairlie will be presenting at two Pinnacle Power Seminars: "What you Don't Know Can Hurt You: How to Manage Regulatory and Other Investigations" and "Bending the Curve to Achieve Financial Sustainability."   You can find more information about the renowned Pinnacle EMS conference at their website here.

On December 22, 2016, MMAC issued a Memo indicating that it will begin conducting onsite audits to determine whether information provided during provider enrollment is accurate.  MMAC stated that it would conduct audits for providers it classifies as Moderate or High risk to the Missouri Medicaid program.  Missouri Ambulance Providers are listed as moderate risk entities by MMAC.  Therefore, Missouri Ambulance Providers should be reviewing their Medicaid enrollment and revalidation information and take steps to ensure that information provided to MMAC is correct.

If you have questions on this process, please contact the firm for further assistance.  You may contact Kevin Fairlie directly here