CMS has announced that it was planning on getting more directly involved in fraud investigations of providers and health systems. What this means is that instead of a CMS contractor, Unified Program Integrity Contractors (UPICs), deciding which entity to audit, CMS itself would decide which providers or suppliers are investigated.

While this is still in the planning stages, with comments to CMS due by November 4, 2026, this proposal signals CMS wants a more centralized approach to investigations. Whether this will lead to a more rapid conclusion, payment suspensions, and provider revocation is unclear. 

According to CMS, the “pay and chase” model of investigations takes too long before any judicial ruling. The current model simply does not deter the more seasoned criminal from continuing to re-enroll under different corporate entities. 

Part of the proposal CMS considers greater integration between all parts of Medicare (parts A, B, C and D, as well as Medicaid) with law enforcement.  

In an earlier post in Becker’s Hospital Review, CMS announced steps on October 14, 2026 giving CMS immediate authority to exclude provider from Medicare and Medicaid. Even for misdemeanor convictions related to health care fraud on controlled substances, state license revocations can result in immediate termination of Medicare billing privileges.

—Paul Kesselman, DPM

To ask a question or add your thoughts, email [email protected].

After about 15 years in practice including my two-year surgical residency, I was becoming increasingly disillusioned with podiatry. I had championed changing the bylaws at a community hospital to allow podiatrists to have surgical privileges, and I was serving as the subdivisional chief of podiatry at that same institution. Among other considerations, the increasing cost of surgical malpractice insurance and decreasing reimbursement, resulting from greater HMO market share, caused me to reconsider the profession.

I enrolled in a master of management degree program with night and weekend courses with an eye towards a possible career change. Shortly before finishing my degree, I sold my practice after receiving an employment offer from a large healthcare software company. In the ensuing years, the majority of my time was spent as an analyst at two hospital system IT departments. My primary focus involved configuring medications and the orders and order sets used by providers. I was involved in the implementation of barcode medication administration, electronic medication reconciliation, and e-prescribing. Prior to the second hospital system migrating to Epic, I served as the team lead and managed the pharmacy IT needs for five hospitals. Having a medical background was definitely an asset in working with physicians, nursing, pharmacy, and other stakeholders.

I am still working part-time almost 30 years later as a remote consultant in healthcare IT and have not regretted my career change.

—Barry Mozenter, DPM, MMgmt

The initial thread is available at this link. To add your thoughts, email [email protected].

As AI becomes more common in healthcare, podiatry might have some catching up to do. Artificial intelligence has been part of medicine for decades. What is different today is how quickly it is moving into everyday life and clinical practice…

So, where does podiatry fit in?

—Ron Favali

To read the entire article, click the button below. To submit a question or response, email [email protected].

You’re now receiving the podiatry sector’s newest source of timely and reliable information about everything from medical breakthroughs to practice management strategies. Share PM Pulse with your colleagues, and let us know how we can keep improving by emailing [email protected]

The National Board of Podiatric Medical Examiners is looking for licensed and practicing podiatric physicians to participate in its Practice Analysis survey in April 2027 for the American Podiatric Medical Licensing Exams (APMLE).

The Practice Analysis serves as the foundation for identifying the content and competencies that should be included on the APMLE Part I, APMLE Part II, and APMLE Part III. It identifies the knowledge, skills, and tasks that are relevant to the current practice of podiatric medicine, and its findings inform the content of the exams.

A large group of licensed and practicing podiatric physicians must complete validation surveys to rate how often they perform specific tasks and how important those tasks are for safe patient care. By participating and completing the survey in April, licensed and practicing podiatric physicians will be sharing their knowledge and expertise on this incredibly important process—and helping advance the podiatric profession.

Survey respondents can learn more and sign up here.

Private equity (PE) firms are actively consolidating the highly fragmented podiatry services market in the U.S. Since more than 96 percent of U.S. podiatry practices are small operations with fewer than five doctors, they make good targets.

By targeting small, independent practices, the PE firms can form large “supergroups” under Management Services Organizations (MSOs). This strategy centralizes administrative, billing, and IT tasks to improve scale and efficiency.

Selling to a PE firm or investors usually means an upfront cash payout, removal of burdensome administrative tasks, and the potential for a second payout (most PE firms and investors are usually in it for a short term).

Asked how confident they are that their practice could recover quickly from a cyberattack, less than one in five (19 percent) medical group leaders said “very,” 61 percent said “somewhat,” and 21 percent said “not confident,” according to an October 6, 2026, MGMA Stat poll with 238 applicable responses.

The follow-ups suggest that confidence is driven primarily by tested recovery plans, backups, and IT expertise, while lower-confidence respondents most often cited dependence on vendors, limited staffing, and insufficient resources.

Source: MGMA Stat

Student doctor Jacob Wielgomas, MS-IV, is contributing to the future of limb-salvage medicine as a co-author of a newly published review in the Journal of Wound Care.

The article, “Angiosome-directed revascularisation and the woundosome paradigm in chronic limb-threatening ischaemia: a narrative review,” brings together an interdisciplinary team of podiatric physicians, vascular surgeons, interventional specialists, and wound-care experts to examine how revascularization strategies can improve healing and limb salvage. Wielgomas is the only student doctor among the nine authors and is affiliated with Kent State University College of Podiatric Medicine.

Source: Kent State

The Medical Economics Practice Academy—Thursday, November 19, 1:00-5:00 ET—is a virtual learning experience built specifically for physicians who want to build stronger practices and stronger personal careers. 

The program delivers practical, real-world education you can apply immediately, covering the strategies, tools and insights physicians need to strengthen patient collections, improve the financial experience, and build long-term personal wealth. From revenue cycle performance and patient payment workflows to lifestyle management, investing discipline and career optionality, sessions tackle the financial pressures that shape both the practice and the physician behind it. Click the button below for more information or to register.

Source: Medical Economics

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