Articles and Blogs

Recently, the Wisconsin Supreme Court voted to accept review of State of Wisconsin v. Dawn M. Prado, in which the Court of Appeals struck down a portion of Wisconsin’s “implied consent” law that permits police to order warrantless blood draws on incapacitated drivers.[1] As detailed in a previous Hall Render alert, although the Court... READ MORE

The Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) recently released the 2020 edition of the Pharmacist’s Manual, replacing all previous versions. Since 2010, the Pharmacist’s Manual (“Manual”) has aided pharmacies and pharmacists in understanding how to apply requirements under the Federal Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”) and related DEA regulations. As an agency guidance document, the Manual offers... READ MORE

Recently, a former Texas hospital (the “Hospital”) settled a multi-million dollar False Claims Act civil lawsuit involving the acquisition and use of funds from the largest Federal Housing Administration-backed mortgage for a for-profit hospital. The Hospital settled for $13.6 million and three top executives of the hospital, along with the development company, will collectively... READ MORE

NATIONAL 10 highest-paying cities for physicians in 2020 13 states see record COVID-19 hospitalizations 39 hospitals face maximum Medicare readmission penalties A breakdown of 5 recent CMS rules After hospital volumes plummeted due to COVID-19, full rebound not likely soon CMS delayed help, investigating instead, at site of first U.S. COVID-19 outbreak, ’60 Minutes’... READ MORE

In just a few months, CMS is going to introduce significant changes to office or other outpatient visit coding guidelines. With a historic provision in the 2020 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule, CMS will attempt to address the administrative burden placed on providers and prioritize patients over paperwork. When it comes to documentation... READ MORE

Many clients have inquired about what they can do to ensure adequate safety precautions are being observed in their medical office buildings. A recent study found that 61% of Americans are not confident or only slightly confident that public spaces have the guidance needed to open safely. Another study found that 44% of respondents... READ MORE

On September 4, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) issued an order to temporarily halt residential evictions of certain individuals for the nonpayment of rent through December 31, 2020 (“Order”). Based on the express language of the Order, the CDC aims to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by allowing some renters... READ MORE

Michigan recently joined a chorus of states adopting protections for businesses and governmental agencies related to COVID-19 exposures and adding protections and requirements for employees. On October 22, 2020, Michigan Governor, Gretchen Whitmer, signed three new pieces of legislation. Health care organizations will particularly take note because many of their employees have no work-from-home... READ MORE

On Thursday, October 29, HHS made the most substantial revisions to its Relief Fund Frequently Asked Questions document to date, adding or modifying 61 FAQs and deleting 78. Many of the deletions are related to the new or modified FAQs, as well as the updated Reporting Guidelines issued October 22, which we addressed here.... READ MORE

On October 22, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) published revised Provider Relief Fund Reporting Guidelines (“Revised Reporting Guidelines”) for providers (“Recipients”) who received more than $10,000 in relief fund payments from the Provider Relief Fund created by the CARES Act (“Relief Fund”) (the press release announcing the Revised Reporting Guidelines is... READ MORE