Articles and Blogs

Recently, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that 3 charities will pay a total of $10 million to settle claims that the charities operated as conduits for illegal kickbacks to pharmaceutical companies. The industry-wide probe also implicated several pharmaceutical companies that, according to the DOJ, improperly used charitable foundations as a way to... READ MORE

NATIONAL 8 major CMS changes to take effect in 2020 2 physician payment model advisers abruptly resign from MACRA committee 8 hospital construction projects worth $1B or more in 2019 Mandatory CMS radiation oncology model goes on the backburner More than 600 hospitals sue over Medicare payment reductions 7 hospitals across 4 states will... READ MORE

Recently, the Indiana Supreme Court clarified the judiciary’s inability to add terms to an impermissibly broad nonsolicitation agreement, even if specifically requested in the agreement itself. Background When the terms of a noncompetition or nonsolicitation agreement are disputed, parties often ask courts to determine whether the terms are reasonable. Indiana courts administer this task... READ MORE

When an entity merges with or acquires another business, the parties to the transaction face a variety of issues. When attempting to sort out some of the more-dominant deal points (e.g., ever-changing regulatory requirements, successful employee integration, preferred methods of financing, etc.), many entities inadvertently overlook other details that, despite being seemingly routine, could... READ MORE

An Indiana hospital owns a medical building in Newburgh, Warrick County, Indiana (the “Property”) by way of a wholly-owned subsidiary that is an Indiana nonprofit corporation (the “Applicant”). The Applicant leases parts of the Property to its affiliates for the delivery of health care services. For the 2014 and 2015 tax years, the Warrick... READ MORE

Would you share information about your heart rate, menstrual cycle or hearing loss with a technology company? On November 14, 2019, Apple, Inc. (“Apple”) launched an application that allows its U.S. customers to enroll in three studies aimed at collecting health-related data that are intended to contribute to medical discoveries called the “Apple Research... READ MORE

NATIONAL How predictive analytics can help hospitals manage administrative, clinical functions Analysis finds big drugmakers could lose $1 trillion in sales and still be most profitable industry How Hospitals Can Impact the Social Determinants of Health PhRMA’s revenue hit record $459M in 2018 American Hospital Association, provider groups to sue over final rule CMS... READ MORE

On November 15, 2019, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released the final rule on Price Transparency Requirements for Hospitals to Make Standard Charges Public (“Final Rule”) (available here). Despite broad opposition from the industry, CMS finalized the rule largely as proposed. CMS did delay the effective date until January 1, 2021,... READ MORE

NATIONAL FDA proposal for medical device approvals a ‘terrible idea,’ advocacy group says Why hospitals are a weak spot in U.S. cybersecurity Here’s how Amazon employees get health care through a new app — a glimpse of the future of medicine Consolidation of physician practices linked to ACOs, study finds OIG: Hospitals overbilled Medicare... READ MORE

On November 7, 2019, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced that a Texas state agency (“State Agency”) will pay a penalty of $1,600,000 for violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) Privacy Rule and Security Rule. According to the Notice of... READ MORE