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# OIG finds $15.2M improperly paid for sacroiliac joint injections, 72% noncompliance
- URL: https://members.americanhealthintel.com/2026-08-07-regulator/
- Published: 2026-08-07T09:59:55.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-07T09:59:55.000Z
- Description: Plus: FCC adopts Rural Health Care Program rate-justification waiver for 2027. The day's rules, money, and enforcement, sourced and tiered below.
- Author: American Health Intel

Plus: FCC adopts Rural Health Care Program rate-justification waiver for 2027\. The day's rules, money, and enforcement, sourced and tiered below.

| American Health Intel Rules · Money · Medicine · Decoded daily The Regulator Friday, August 7, 2026 OIG finds $15.2M improperly paid for sacroiliac joint injections, 72% noncompliance Plus: FCC adopts Rural Health Care Program rate-justification waiver for 2027\. The day's rules, money, and enforcement, sourced and tiered below. ![](https://americanhealthintel.com/email/pulse-divider.png) Report Confidence: High Federal auditors found that 72 of 100 sampled Medicare sessions for sacroiliac joint injections, a common pain-management procedure for lower back and pelvic pain, violated billing rules nationwide. Extrapolated nationally, Medicare improperly paid $15.2 million across 134,526 sessions in one year. CMS agreed to educate providers but rejected building a systemic fix for the billing error OIG identified. Why it matters This shows a specific pain-procedure billing pattern that federal auditors flagged but the agency in charge chose not to fully fix, so the error will likely keep recurring. Sources: [HHS OIG](https://oig.hhs.gov/reports/all/2026/medicare-improperly-paid-physicians-an-estimated-152-million-for-sacroiliac-joint-injections/?ref=members.americanhealthintel.com) Rule Confidence: Medium The Federal Communications Commission adopted an order easing paperwork for the fund that discounts broadband service for rural health clinics and hospitals, and opened comment on cutting more red tape. The order lets providers reuse a previously approved rural rate for 2027 instead of redoing a cost-justification each year. A separate proposal targets paperwork burden for roughly 14,000 rural providers using the fund. Why it matters A federal subsidy fund that keeps rural clinics connected to broadband just got a little easier to use, and more paperwork cuts could follow. Sources: [Fcc](https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-adopts-further-improvements-rural-health-care-program?ref=members.americanhealthintel.com) Also today Minnesota's new Medicaid fraud law carries 4-year mandatory minimum [Read](https://americanhealthintel.com/editions/2026-08-07-regulator/?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fcampaign=edition#minnesota-map-act-medicaid-fraud-felony) 17 state attorneys general press Congress on Medicaid recipient fraud authority [Read](https://americanhealthintel.com/editions/2026-08-07-regulator/?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fcampaign=edition#oklahoma-17-ags-stop-fraud-medicaid-act) DEA's 30-day window to schedule concentrated 7-OH kratom has closed [Read](https://americanhealthintel.com/editions/2026-08-07-regulator/?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fcampaign=edition#dea-7oh-kratom-schedule-i-window) USPSTF hasn't met since March 2025, July meeting postponed again [Read](https://americanhealthintel.com/editions/2026-08-07-regulator/?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fcampaign=edition#uspstf-frozen-17-months) 429Records$31.7BEnforcement19Deadlines126Rules [Read this issue + the trackers](https://americanhealthintel.com/editions/2026-08-07-regulator/?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fcampaign=edition) Pick your field on the site and every story tells you what it means for you. Reply to this email and tell us what you want covered. We read everything. We show our work. We score our own calls. [Track record](https://americanhealthintel.com/ledger/?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fcampaign=edition) · [Calendar](https://americanhealthintel.com/calendar/?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fcampaign=edition) · [Enforcement](https://americanhealthintel.com/enforcement/?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fcampaign=edition) · [X](https://x.com/amhealthintel?ref=members.americanhealthintel.com) · [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/american-health-intel?ref=members.americanhealthintel.com) News and analysis, not legal, medical, coding, or investment advice.You subscribed at americanhealthintel.com · [Unsubscribe](%%{unsubscribe%5Furl}%%) |
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