Articles and Blogs

NATIONAL 100 rural hospitals have closed labor and delivery in 5 years: Report 4 Joint Commission moves AHA backs bill revising reimbursement for long-term care Attorneys general to Congress: Ban PBMs from owning pharmacies DOGE stalls healthcare payments: 6 things to know Federal agency warns of potential breach in Oracle’s legacy cloud system Forget... READ MORE

In In Re: Commitment of G.M., the Indiana Court of Appeals (the “Court”) affirmed the trial court’s refusal to allow a patient to waive the right to counsel in commitment proceedings. No. 24A-MH-2677, 2025 WL 928559 (Ind. Ct. App. Mar. 27, 2025). The decision highlighted the importance of civil commitment proceedings, the effect of... READ MORE

NATIONAL 60 US senators support telehealth extension 10 Things to Know About Rural Hospitals A novel training model to combat rural physician shortages Abbott Labs to expand US manufacturing as tariffs loom CMS weighs dropping some quality measures: What to know CMS drops 5 proposed payment rules for 2026: 25 things to know CMS... READ MORE

A recent article highlighted frictions between the development of behavioral health hospitals, which many advocates argue are necessary, and local resistance from neighbors who fear such facilities might undermine the neighborhood’s character. After recently breaking ground on a $777M cancer facility in Sugar Land, TX, MD Anderson announced that it is continuing to evaluate... READ MORE

There have been significant developments in the litigation surrounding Executive Order 14187 (“Executive Order”), entitled “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation,” which directs agencies and certain federal health care programs to limit access to gender-affirming care to patients under the age of 19 through different measures, including halting federal grant funding that provide... READ MORE

On April 17, 2025, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) extended the due date to complete and submit the new Form CMS-855A SNF Disclosures Attachment for every Skilled Nursing Facility (“SNF”). In its Medicare Learning Network, 2025-04-17-MLNC, CMS formally announced that enrolled skilled nursing facilities should collect data on ownership, managerial and related party... READ MORE

The Food and Drug Administration’s (“FDA”) Office of Prescription Drug Promotion (“OPDP”) started 2025 with two Untitled Letters, one in February and one in March, potentially signaling more enforcement for the year. OPDP issued only five enforcement letters in 2023 and 2024, with a heavy focus on influencer marketing. However, on April 1, 2025,... 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

We are taking a break from our regular briefing this week to focus on a list of trends we are seeing in the market. Take a look at our list—if we didn’t cover a trend you are seeing in the market, send us a note. We always enjoy hearing from our readers. As always,... READ MORE

NATIONAL Changes Made to Leapfrog’s Hospital Survey Design CMS grants Medicare Advantage $25B funding increase CMS releases final rule for 2026 Medicare Advantage, prescription drug plans CMS administrator confirmed as Medicaid faces cuts, questions about assisted living CMS fines 7 payers over Medicare Part D violations CMS instructs contractors to expand coverage for CRC... READ MORE