Articles and Blogs

On June 4, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission and ruled in favor of Jack Phillips, a Colorado baker who refused to create a wedding cake for a same-sex couple due to his religious opposition to same-sex marriages. The Supreme Court held that the... READ MORE

NATIONAL MGMA calls for CMS to enforce health plans’ HIPAA compliance Senators Seek Solutions to Disappearing Rural EDs Health care CEOs lead the way in pay How Amazon’s digital health moves could affect providers Pfizer Settles False Claims Allegations for $24M 8 latest healthcare industry lawsuits Do Most Hospitals Benefit from Directly Employing Physicians?... READ MORE

In happy news for the health care industry, OFCCP recently announced a two-year extension of its TRICARE enforcement moratorium. The agency’s self-initiated enforcement moratorium, which has been in effect for four years, is now scheduled to expire on May 7, 2021. OFCCP also expanded the scope of the moratorium to apply to providers under the... READ MORE

Hall Render is pleased to announce attorney Addison Bradford has joined the firm’s Indianapolis office. Addison focuses his practice on real estate and construction law. He represents health care providers in a broad range of real estate matters, including hospital-physician leasing arrangements and timeshares. Addison also assists clients with purchase and sale transactions, real and... READ MORE

On December 22, 2017, the president signed into law H.R. 1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “TCJA”), which will apply to 2018 income for tax filings in 2019. The TCJA includes a number of commercial real estate provisions, several of which could create significant new opportunities specific to the health care sector.... READ MORE

On May 18, 2018, CMS released the preliminary FY 2020 Worksheet S-3, Parts II and III wage index Public Use File (“PUF”). The PUF contains wage data based on FFY 2016 hospital cost reports; that is, cost reports with fiscal year begin dates of on or after October 1, 2015 and on or before September 30, 2016.  The FFY... READ MORE

Senate, House Health Committees Examine GME Program On May 22, the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions (“HELP”) Committee held a hearing on the graduate medical education (“GME”) program. Republican members raised concerns over the current GME program, alleging there are inequities in the distribution of residency slots and asking whether training should be... READ MORE

NATIONAL Hospitals Are All Over Facebook, But What Are They Posting About? Early 340B hospitals gave more uncompensated care than later participants With shortage looming, primary care doctors’ salaries rise CMS to consolidate Medicare quality reporting programs Kaiser, BCBS of North Carolina enlist in 40+-member Health Care Transformation Task Force More doctors become hospital... READ MORE

In a 5 to 4 opinion split down ideological lines, the Supreme Court ruled that class and collective action waivers contained in employment arbitration agreements do not violate the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) and must be enforced. This is music to the ears of all employers, especially those that have been the target... READ MORE

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) recently finalized several new policies aimed at preventing and combating prescription opioid misuse by Medicare Part D beneficiaries. The policies, detailed in CMS’s 2019 Final Call Letter (“Call Letter”)[1] and outlined below, require Part D plan sponsors to implement various safety measures to reduce opioid overuse among... READ MORE