Articles and Blogs

The nation’s fifth-largest health system operator, Advocate Health, has developed a new strategy of cutting costs through staff attrition (rather than layoffs) and has delayed some capital projects. In response to recent economic challenges, Advocate also said it will reduce its leased space footprint by about 65% over the next four years. In the... READ MORE

Fannie Mae published an Economic and Housing Outlook Report highlighting the possibility of a modest recession being “pushed back” from Q2 to the year’s second half. The report points to the Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank failures as an early sign of moderate economic contraction that is expected later this year. According to... READ MORE

NATIONAL AHA, AHCA warn CMS against unfunded nursing home staffing mandates AHA to Congress: Funding rural hospitals is critical for access AHA-supported bill to aid small rural hospitals reintroduced in Senate Biden won’t veto Republican-led bill ending COVID emergency CVS-branded hospitals? What’s next for company after Signify acquisition Is CMS pushing procedures away from... READ MORE

Borrowers of tax-exempt debt across the country with outstanding bond issuances tied to the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) are working to amend their financial instruments to account for the cessation of the rate’s publication after June 30, 2023. To address and limit the anticipated impacts associated with the cessation of LIBOR, the Treasury... READ MORE

With yet another criminal wage-fixing indictment filed this week, the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) signaled its continued commitment to prosecuting anticompetitive conduct affecting the U.S. labor markets, including within the health care industry. On March 16, a federal grand jury returned an indictment that charges a health care staffing executive... READ MORE

NATIONAL 42 Hospitals Sue HHS for ‘Tens of Millions’ of Dollars in Delayed Medicare DSH Payments A hospital fight is renewed — over hospitals Amazon underestimated complexity of healthcare: Report Between a rock and a hard place: Interest rate hikes alarm some hospital CFOs CEO of Moderna grilled by lawmakers about plants to quadruple... READ MORE

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by another 25 basis points, bringing the Fed’s benchmark target to between 4.75 and 5%, the highest since September 2007. The increase poses challenges for hospitals, particularly for providers with lower credit ratings as they look to borrow funds, complete construction projects and control labor costs. Data from NIC MAP Vision... READ MORE

March 17, 2023, was the transition period deadline for full state compliance with the Home and Community-Based Services (“HCBS”) Final Regulation.  As part of the steps to get ready for this deadline, in late 2022, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) visited several settings in multiple states that were identified by the... READ MORE

It is hard to believe that spring is finally here and the Food and Drug Administration’s (“FDA”) Office of Prescription Drug Promotion (“OPDP”) has yet to take any enforcement action in 2023. While this seems unusual, it appears consistent with the OPDP’s seemingly measured approach to enforcement actions in recent years. It may also... READ MORE

On January 30, 2023, the Biden Administration announced the COVID public health emergency (“PHE”) will expire and end on May 11, 2023. The end of the PHE has a significant impact on skilled nursing facilities (“SNFs”) as it ends the remaining regulatory blanket waivers, revisits resident Medicaid eligibility and changes many COVID regulations that... READ MORE