Articles and Blogs

The Court of Appeals recently held that a medical malpractice complaint is not considered filed upon mailing when a third-party commercial carrier is used to deliver the complaint to the Indiana Department of Insurance. The Plaintiff in Moryl v. Ransone et al. was the surviving spouse of a patient that passed away while undergoing... READ MORE

Executive Summary On April 26, 2013 CMS released proposed rules for implementing Section 3133 of the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”).  Starting in 2014, these proposed rules will begin a series of substantial reductions in Disproportionate Share Hospital (“DSH”) payments to hospitals.  Most payments under the new DSH program will be from a set pool... READ MORE

HHS Issues Rule on DSH Payments On May 13, CMS released a proposed rule on the health reform law’s reductions to Disproportionate Share Hospital (“DSH”) payments. The rule would temporarily shield states that have decided to expand Medicaid from deeper DSH cuts in fiscal years 2014 and 2015. The rule comes a month after the White... READ MORE

On April 30, 2012, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals decided Brooten v. Hickok Rehabilitation Services, LLC, No. 2012AP1940, unpublished slip opinion, further limiting the enforceability of standard liability waivers used by local businesses.  The decision made clear that “negligence” or “negligent” are not “magic words rendering an exculpatory clause valid.” In Brooten, the plaintiff... READ MORE

Three new FCA cases of interest were reported in the last few weeks. One was discussed previously on FCADefense.com in Toumey Loses Stark/FCA Case Again by Drew Howk. Another, Ulysses, Inc. v. United States is yet another example of the growing trend of failed FCA counter-claims by the Government in response to contract litigation. The Third, Fresenius... READ MORE

Hall Render is proud to announce that attorneys Sean Fahey and Colleen Powers have been named as members of the Indianapolis Bar Foundation’s Class of 2013 Distinguished Fellows. Each year, the IBF honors a handful of attorneys who use their individual talents and work together to advance justice and lead positive change in the community. In... READ MORE

Hall Render is pleased to announce associate attorney Julie K. Lappas, J.D., has joined the firm’s Indianapolis office. Lappas practices in Hall Render’s Health practice group where she focuses on a variety of regulatory, compliance and corporate transactional matters.  She counsels clients on compliance with the federal Stark Law, federal and state anti-kickback statutes,... READ MORE

Earlier this year, we told you about a recent case from Kentucky in which a federal court found that it was not reasonable for a plaintiff to expect his employer to accommodate his lifting restrictions by spreading essential lifting requirements among the plaintiff’s co-workers. READ MORE

HHS Releases Hospital Price Information for Common Procedures On May 8, HHS released publicly available information about hospital charges. The data set includes information on the 100 most common inpatient procedures. The data shows that hospital fees vary widely – sometimes 10 to 20 times what Medicare normally reimburses, for the same procedure.  The release... READ MORE

Executive Summary On May 8, 2013, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) issued an updated version of its Special Advisory Bulletin on the Effect of Exclusion from Participation in Federal Health Care Programs (“Updated Bulletin”).  In September of 1999, the OIG published its original bulletin on this topic... READ MORE