Articles and Blogs

Hall Render has been named in U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers® 2015 “Best Law Firms” rankings. The firm received metropolitan first-tier rankings in health care law in Detroit, Indianapolis and Milwaukee and metropolitan first-tier ranking in construction law in Louisville. Ranked firms, presented in tiers, are listed on a national and/or metropolitan... READ MORE

On November 10, 2014, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) published the amended final rule regarding the expansion exception process for physician-owned hospitals (“2015 Final Rule”).  The 2015 Final Rule will take effect on January 1, 2015. Background Under the Affordable Care Act’s (“ACA’s”) amendments to the Stark Law, a physician-owned hospital... READ MORE

Hall Render has opened an office in Philadelphia – the firm’s second in the Northeast. Philadelphia is one of three cities Hall Render selected for its national expansion in 2014 in addition to Denver and Washington, D.C.  The addition of these new offices is part of a strategic effort to provide better accessibility to... READ MORE

Republican Election Victories Mean Changes for Health Care The results of the November 4 midterm elections have given Republicans on Capitol Hill control of the Senate and their largest majority of the House since 1932.  Senate Republicans gained seven seats and should increase that number once races in Alaska and Louisiana are official. In... READ MORE

The four-year battle over Indiana’s Right-to-Work Law came to a close on November 6, 2014 when the Indiana Supreme Court issued its unanimous 5 – 0 decision upholding the constitutionality of the law passed by the General Assembly amid union protests in 2012.  See our blog Right-to-Work: Now There are Twenty Three that discusses the history... READ MORE

CMS recently released the display copy of the OPPS/ASC Final Rule for CY 2015 which finalizes proposals related to the reporting of services provided in hospital off-campus provider-based departments (“PBDs”).  The Final Rule can be found here. The changes require hospitals to identify services provided in off-campus PBDs through use of a new HCPCS... READ MORE

Executive Summary On October 31, 2014, the Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) published its Work Plan (“Plan”) for Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2015.  The Plan, which is published annually and describes OIG’s new and ongoing audit and enforcement priorities for the upcoming year, is helpful in identifying provider compliance risk areas and providing focus for... READ MORE

On October 31, 2014, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) released the Work Plan for Fiscal Year 2015 (“Work Plan”). The Work Plan confirms OIG will continue to concentrate a great deal of their enforcement efforts on the security and vulnerabilities of protected health information (“PHI”) contained... READ MORE

Join us as we celebrate National Medical Staff Services Awareness Week this November 2–8, 2014. In 1992, President George Bush signed Congressional House Joint Resolution #399 proclaiming the first week of November as National Medical Staff Services Awareness Week. Since then, the National Association Medical Staff Services (“NAMSS”) has partnered with hospitals, managed care... READ MORE

On October 31, 2014, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued a final notice approving Lake Pointe Medical Center’s (“Lake Pointe”) request for an exception to the Affordable Care Act’s (“ACA’s”) expansion limitations imposed on physician-owned hospitals. Background Under the ACA’s amendments to the Stark Law, a physician-owned hospital cannot expand the... READ MORE