Articles and Blogs

On May 21, 2025, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) announced a substantial expansion of its Risk Adjustment Data Validation (“RADV”) audit program for all Medicare Advantage (“MA”) plans. Effective immediately, CMS will audit all eligible MA plans annually and aims to complete outstanding audits for prior payment years (“PY”) 2018-2024 by... READ MORE

In U.S. ex rel. Wilkerson v. Allergan, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (the “Court”) recently ruled that “but-for” causation is required for liability under the False Claims Act (“FCA”) resulting from alleged Anti-Kickback Statute (“AKS”) violations. This opinion aligns with the First, Sixth and Eighth Circuits, which deviated from the... READ MORE

NATIONAL 4 takeaways on Medicare’s new mandatory payment model AMA President highlights growing crisis facing U.S. physicians Amazon reorganizes health-care business in latest bid to crack multitrillion-dollar market Amazon’s healthcare business to be divided into six units after losing top health executives Catholic systems unite at ‘pivotal moment’ to fight deeper Medicaid cuts CBO... READ MORE

Real estate developers face a complex, evolving landscape for wetland permitting in Florida in light of the loss of the state’s permitting authority, combined with recent federal executive actions and changes to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (the “CWA”). These state and federal developments create challenges for developers seeking to build hospitals,... READ MORE

NATIONAL 3 Stark law cases in 2025 A look at Amazon’s healthcare moves AHA Comments on CMS Skilled Nursing Facility FY 2026 Proposed Payment At-home self-collection doubles cervical cancer screening rates: 5 notes ‘Expensive and complicated’: Most rural hospitals no longer deliver babies Here’s what nurses say is helping, hindering equitable hospital care delivery... READ MORE

North Carolina legislators have passed a bill designed to reduce health care costs, improve price transparency and eliminate certificate of need (CON) restrictions on certain health care projects. The bill removes CON restrictions on diagnostic centers, rehabilitation facilities and in-home hospice services. North Carolina was recently ranked as having the most expensive health care... READ MORE

Health care continues to drive private equity (“PE”) activity, creating opportunities for investors and traditional health care providers. Transactions in the health care space are especially complicated, layering health care regulatory and reimbursement considerations on top of a complex securities, antitrust, privacy and security framework. Hall Render’s PE team of attorneys and advisors leverage... READ MORE

Hall Render is pleased to announce that Jaren Hagler has joined the Firm in its Raleigh office. Jaren concentrates his legal practice on tax, mergers and acquisitions and general business transactions. Jaren partners with clients on a variety of tax matters, including federal and state tax planning and compliance, as well as the tax... READ MORE

Since the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (“HRSA”) announcement of its modernization initiative for the nation’s Organ Procurement Transplantation Network (“OPTN”) in March 2023, the OPTN has undergone five key changes, including technology infrastructure modernization, enhanced data transparency and analytics, sweeping governance changes, operational refinement and greater promotion of quality improvement and innovation among... READ MORE

On May 29, 2025, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) rescinded two Quality, Safety & Oversight (“QSO”) Letters issued under the Biden administration in 2022 and an accompanying letter from the then-Secretary of HHS (collectively, the “Letters”). The Letters had set forth... READ MORE