Articles and Blogs

Year: 2017

Hall Render Celebrates AHLA

[07/19/17]

Posted on July 19, 2017 in Firm News

Published by: Hall Render

We are pleased to congratulate AHLA on celebrating their 50th anniversary. AHLA has played an instrumental role in the health care industry, and we have been fortunate to grow alongside such a tremendous organization. We are proud to recognize Hall Render’s attorneys who will serve on AHLA’s 2018 leadership committee and honor our team’s outstanding commitment. Allan Adelman... READ MORE

OIG Approves Waiver of Cost-Sharing Amounts for Financially Needy Beneficiaries Participating in Clinical Research Studies

[07/18/17]

Posted on July 18, 2017 in Health Law News

Published by: Hall Render

On June 29, 2017, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) issued a favorable advisory opinion, Advisory Opinion 17-02, concerning a hospital (the “Hospital”) outpatient facility’s proposal to waive or reduce cost-sharing amounts owed by financially needy Medicare beneficiaries for items and services furnished in connection with a clinical... READ MORE

MACRA Quality Payment Program: To Year 2 and Beyond

[07/18/17]

Posted on July 18, 2017 in Health Law News

Published by: Hall Render

On June 30, 2017, CMS published in the Federal Register a proposed rule (“Proposed Rule”) to update the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (“MACRA”) Quality Payment Program (“QPP”) for CY 2018 and future years. CMS has stated that it endeavors to increase flexibility, decrease administrative burden and overall simplify the QPP,... READ MORE

CMS Issues Requirement to Reduce Legionella Risk in Health Care Facility Water Systems – New Policies and Procedures Required

[07/17/17]

Posted on July 17, 2017 in Health Law News, Long-Term Care, Home Health & Hospice

Published by: Hall Render

On June 2, 2017, the Survey and Certification Group at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued a memorandum, “Requirement to Reduce Legionella Risk in Healthcare Facility Water Systems to Prevent Cases and Outbreaks of Legionnaires’ Disease (LD)” (“S&C Memo”), requiring that facilities develop and follow policies and procedures that inhibit microbial growth... READ MORE

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Hall Render’s This Week in Washington – July 14, 2017

[07/14/17]

Posted on July 14, 2017 in Federal Advocacy

Published by: Hall Render

Stark Reform Legislation Introduced and Advanced in the House On July 10, Reps. Marchant (R-TX) and Ron Kind (D-WI) reintroduced the Stark Administrative Simplification Act (H.R. 3173).  The bipartisan legislation would limit the penalties for technical violations of the Stark Law and create an expedited process for their resolution. The measure was introduced as... READ MORE

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CMS Issues Guidance Suspending Enforcement of Penalties for Phase 2 Requirements and Revises F-Tags

[07/11/17]

Posted on July 11, 2017 in Long-Term Care, Home Health & Hospice

Published by: Hall Render

This is another article in a series discussing the complete overhaul of Part 483 to Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations, the Requirements for States and Long-Term Care Facilities (“Final Regulations”) by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”). BACKGROUND On September 28, 2016, CMS released a complete overhaul of Part... READ MORE

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Hall Render Celebrates 50 Years of Practicing Health Law

[07/11/17]

Posted on July 11, 2017 in Firm News

Published by: Hall Render

We are excited to announce Hall Render is celebrating its 50th year of providing legal and strategic counsel to clients throughout the health care industry. Founded in 1967 by William S. Hall, the firm grew to become Hall, Render, Killian, Heath & Lyman in 1984. Hall Render has since expanded beyond its Indianapolis roots,... READ MORE

Getting Paid for Telehealth Services

[07/11/17]

Posted on July 11, 2017 in Health Law News

Published by: Hall Render

Many hospitals and health systems are using telehealth technologies to improve patient access (particularly in remote or rural locations), monitor and manage chronic conditions and generally deliver health care in a more timely and cost-efficient fashion. There are currently three general modalities of telehealth services. First, the asynchronous transmission of images, test results or... READ MORE

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Florida Health System Prevails in Real Estate-Related Whistleblower Action: Five Key Takeaways

[07/10/17]

Posted on July 10, 2017 in Health Law News

Published by: Hall Render

In January of 2014, a relator filed suit against a Florida hospital system (“Health System”) under the False Claims Act. We originally reported on the suit against the Health System in this blog post. The suit garnered national attention based on the unique facts of the case. The suit involved a medical office building that was... READ MORE

Non-Network Employer Health Plans – The Struggle Continues

[07/07/17]

Posted on July 7, 2017 in Health Law News

Published by: Hall Render

With employee health plan costs continuing to rise at an alarming rate, medium-sized employers are increasingly rejecting traditional insurance models built around a network of preferred providers and turning to a non-network model wherein the plan appoints a pricing consultant as a “Designated Decision Maker” (“DDM”) with discretionary and ultimate decision-making authority for determining... READ MORE

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