Ok, well maybe not in those exact words. But the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced over the June 22 weekend that it was extending the review of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, which bore the HIPAA mega-rule, for an “undetermined” time period, according to the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs latest list of submissions under review. 

The mega-rule, a composite of four separate final rules aimed to enhance data security and weed out fraud, was sent to the OMB office for a 90-day final review March 24 with a decision expected by June 24. Review extensions are granted for up to 90 days or indefinitely, at the rulemaking agency’s discretion, i.e. HHS.

The United States Supreme Court Monday morning rulings came and went this morning without an opinion on the Affordable Care Act. That means a decision is now expected on Thursday morning, June 28, the next time the court will issue opinions.

This week's HIPAA 5010 readiness webinar was mostly an opportunity for CMS staffers to regurgitate the same news they've been blasting in our inboxes for weeks. But there were a couple of warning shots you definitely should heed. The main topic was preparation for the July 1 cutover from the 4010 version. However, the 40-minute Q&A period yielded a few interesting tidbits as to how to fend off any payment hiccups starting next month.

You don't have much time to prepare for CMS' three-day billing window for hospital practices which goes into effect July 1. So even if you're not sure whether your practice is wholly owned by a hospital, there are a few things you need to know.

Here’s a brief summary of points CMS addresses in its June 14 released FAQs on the three-day billing rule. 

Discussions of ways to permanently or at least temporarily fix the sustainable growth rate (SGR) for 2013 – and prevent drastic cuts to physician payments – have started already.

“We’re seeing activity earlier on in the year than we have in the past,” says Miranda Franco, government affairs representative for the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) in Washington, D.C. Whether Congress can agree to permanent fixes in the challenging budget environment remains to be seen, she adds.