A big thank you to Curt Varone at Fire Law Blog for hosting Kevin Fairlie to discuss DOJ/OIG federal investigations into Fire Based EMS for False Claims Act violations and steps Fire Departments should take to avoid scrutiny. 

"In today’s episode, Curt talks with attorney Kevin Fairlie about the challenges facing fire departments who bill for EMS transports. Kevin’s law practice concentrates on health care related topics, but a recent spate of federal investigations across the country into fire department EMS billing practices has led him to represent numerous fire departments."  You can hear their entire podcast discussion at Fire Law Blog, Podcast 30: EMS Billing and Medicare Medicaid Fraud.

​Based on his years of experience with Medicare cost-reporting and his deep understanding of the EMS industry, our Managing Member, Kevin Fairlie, has been asked to write a number of articles recently on Medicare's new cost-reporting requirements for the EMS industry as well as state specific Medicaid cost reporting requirements.

Examples of these articles can be found in the Fall 2019 Missouri EMS Association (MEMSA) EMS Connection magazine  and the Kansas EMS Association (KEMSA) Chronicle magazine. 

More articles with current updates on this evolving topic are set for publication in other state EMS association journals and we will update you with those articles as they are published!

​This is a snippet of what EMS World had to say about Kevin's presentation:

"Accusations of false claims and negligence can send shivers down the spines of even the most careful EMS administrators. During “2019 Legal Update” at Pinnacle July 26, two experienced EMS attorneys brought attendees up to speed on current EMS case law and how providers and agencies can protect themselves." 

The entire EMS World article can be found here:  ​https://www.emsworld.com/article/1223025/pinnacle-ems-case-law-are-you-protected

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