The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published the final FY 2010 Medicare Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) rules with changes that require separate consideration of Medical Supplies that are implanted and still in the patient at the time of discharge.
On October 31, 2014, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the final 2015 rule for Medicare outpatient prospective payment services (OPPS) and ambulatory surgical centers. The rule, which goes into effect on January 1, 2015, finalizes many of the changes outlined in the proposed rule issued earlier this year.
In continuation of the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (FASB) Simplification Initiative, FASB published a proposed accounting standards update (Proposed ASU 2014-220), which would eliminate the concept of extraordinary items from U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).
With state governments becoming increasingly aggressive in their efforts to generate revenues and keep budgets in check, many have employed new tactics to cast a wider net over those to which taxes apply. One of the more recent trends sweeping the states is the concept of “economic nexus.” Nexus is the concept of having a taxable connection or presence in a jurisdiction. Economic nexus means having a connection that is not necessarily physical, but is instead reliant enough on a local economy to warrant a taxing obligation.
As a firm we audit close to 200 employee benefit plans each year, including a mix of defined contribution, defined benefit, ESOP, and health and welfare plans. The plans that we work with are typically extremely well-run by sponsors and administrators who are very focused on meeting their fiduciary duties to the plan participants.
The Department of Health and Human Services added a submission to the Federal Register earlier this year that many states find concerning. Among many other things, Federal Register Vol. 79, No. 11 dated January 16, 2014, addresses Home and Community Based Services (HCBS).
In recent years the topic of “use tax” and the potential exposure for financial institutions have become more important. Failure to properly account for and report use tax can result in significant tax liabilities upon audit.