Articles and Blogs

Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) Routine Use Data is now available through CMS.  In our Update indicating new SSI Ratios for Medicare DSH were published on March 16, 2012 for Fiscal Years (FYs) 2006 – 2009, we recommended that Hospitals obtain their DSH Routine Use Data in order to have the underlying data used by... READ MORE

In an open letter published this week, Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) and Sen. Orin Hatch (R-UT), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, called on the health care industry to provide solutions and suggestions on how to fight waste, fraud and abuse in the Medicare and Medicaid programs.  The full letter... READ MORE

Sometimes having a good No-Solicitation and No-Distribution Policy is not good enough when supervisors warn about activities that aren’t covered by otherwise lawful policies.  In this case a hospital that was having problems with its incumbent union had previously established a pretty good policy.  That policy provided: “Solicitation/ Distribution.  Employees are forbidden from soliciting... READ MORE

Part 2 of 2 If it survives the current legal challenge in the U.S. Supreme Court, the mandatory coverage aspect of the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) will not take effect until 2014.  This timing has the effect of making hospitals tentative about capital deployment in general and for real estate in particular. Besides timing... READ MORE

According to long standing NLRB doctrine, in healthcare facilities, restrictions on wearing non-official buttons and insignia in immediate patient care areas are valid. But if there is selective enforcement of the restrictions singles out union related buttons and insignia then there is a problem unless the hospital can show that the restriction was “necessary... READ MORE

A Common Scenario Sometimes, as a matter of convenience, an employee may request that a portion of his or her paycheck be deducted and applied toward a debt or other obligation.  For example, the employee might ask that insurance premiums be deducted  – or charitable contributions – or the cost of purchases from the... READ MORE

In a recent informal discussion letter, the EEOC responded to an employer’s inquiry about the application of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act to health care workers’ requests for exemption from an employer-mandated flu vaccination program. In a lengthy response EEOC’s Legal Counsel, Peggy Mastroianni, references several prior EEOC publications addressing relevant legal... READ MORE

The National eHealth Collaborative will host a 1 hour discussion with Claudia Williams, Director of the State HIE Program at ONC to discuss the recently released national HIE strategy.  The discussion will take place tomorrow (May 2) at 3:30 PM EDT.  The national HIE strategy can be viewed here.  To register for the program... READ MORE

The EEOC on April 25, 2012 issued its Enforcement Guidance, updating its previous position on an employer’s use of arrest and conviction records in making employment decisions.  The Enforcement Guidance was issued without prior public comment and does not have the force of law, but it does indicate where the EEOC will likely head when... READ MORE

Last week, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) addressed the status of TRICARE-based affirmative action compliance reviews during an agency conducted webinar.  The webinar was in response to the recent passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”), which included language confirming that TRICARE network providers would not be considered federal subcontractors... READ MORE