LifeAudit Financial Corner – June 2014

Andrew Shamp

By: Andrew Shamp, Guest Contributor

If you had investment income in 2013, there may be something in your recently filed tax return that you weren’t expecting – an additional 3.8% tax. For individual taxpayers with adjusted gross income (“AGI”) over $200,000 and joint filing taxpayers with adjusted gross income above $250,000 the Affordable Care Act created an additional tax on investment income of 3.8%. The tax is levied on the lesser of 1) net investment income, and 2) the amount by which their AGI exceeds the threshold limit of $200,000 or $250,000 respectively. Investment income specifically includes gross income from interest, dividends, annuities, royalties, and rents.  Investment income does not include distributions from qualified retirement plans, IRAs, gain on the sale of certain business interests, active trade or business income, or any income taken into account for self-employment tax purposes. The surtax became effective after December 31, 2012.Continue reading

Collect Now…or Pay Later

bonus calculationBy: Karina P. Gonzalez

Though it can be tempting to offer help to patients in this era of sky high healthcare costs, out-of-network physicians must remember that they should not only be collecting copayments and deductibles from their patients at the time of service and before they leave the office, but also that collecting these payments is their obligation. For physicians and other providers who engage in the practice of failing to collect payments there is a significant legal exposure under federal and state laws including civil litigation brought by commercial health plans, managed care organizations and medical benefit managers regarding routine waiver of these payments.Continue reading

Point of Care Test Cups Held to be a Prohibited Benefit to Physicians Who Could Not Otherwise Bill for Them

pee in a cupBy: Jackie Bain

When a physician cannot bill for test results, and a company offers to give that physician those test results for free, a Florida Federal Court has ruled that the company is offering the physician prohibited remuneration.  On May 5, 2014 the Middle District of Florida granted partial summary judgment on the latest motion in a contentious litigation between Ameritox Ltd. and Millennium Laboratories, Inc.  Ameritox and Millennium are competitors and clinical laboratories that screen urine specimens for the presence of drugs.

Millennium provided free point of care testing cups to physicians, who use the cups for initial testing and then return the cups back to Millennium for confirmation tests.  Physicians do not bill patients or insurance companies for the point of care tests.Continue reading