Articles and Blogs

As we noted in a previous article, significant Medicare payment cuts for certain 340B-participating hospitals[1] (“Covered Entities”) went into effect as of January 1, 2018 after a federal district court judge declined to take action to prevent implementation of certain 2018 Outpatient Prospective Payment System (“OPPS”) final rule (“Final Rule”) provisions. These changes represent... READ MORE

NATIONAL FDA chief: I’m surprised it took big tech this long to get into health care Will 2018 be the year of Catholic health care dominance? U.S. medical device tax back in effect after two-year pause 13 healthcare M&A deals that made headlines in 2017 CMS reaffirms its ban on texting physician orders, clarifies... READ MORE

Over the past few years, rural health care providers have struggled to recruit full-time physicians to their communities. This has caused a number of providers to consider part-time arrangements with physicians. The rural provider considering a part-time arrangement has at least two options: 1) the provider could allow the physician to lease space within... READ MORE

On December 29, 2017, a judge for the United States District Court for the District of Columbia DENIED a motion to enjoin significant Medicare payment cuts for certain hospitals that participate in the 340B Drug Pricing Program (“340B Program”) that are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2018. As a result, the Medicare... READ MORE

NATIONAL Kmart to pay $32.3M to settle health care-related whistleblower case Indian Health Service Seeking Input on Modernizing its Health IT Systems Reintroduced bill could give data brokers more options under HIPAA Medicare Penalizes Group Of 751 Hospitals For Patient Injuries New laws increase access to healthcare delivery for advanced practice registered nurses 92... READ MORE

The new Tax Reform Act (the “Act”) contains numerous changes to the Internal Revenue Code that will affect tax-exempt hospitals and other health care organizations. Leaders of these organizations should begin 2018 by giving careful attention to the new restrictions and planning opportunities to avoid adverse consequences later. Repeal of Individual Mandate Beginning in... READ MORE

NATIONAL Physician job growth varies greatly by region, report finds HHS OIG Report Cites Concerns with MACRA Implementation 4 healthcare revenue cycle trends to watch in 2018 OCR revamps HIPAA guidance in wake of opioid crisis, 21st Century Cures rules Physician pay increased in 2017 as demand grew, according to study 2017: A Look... READ MORE

NATIONAL MedPAC finalizes recommendation to repeal MIPS WSJ: Ascension, Providence St. Joseph in merger talks Dignity Health announces merger with Colorado-based Catholic Health Initiatives Optum’s MedExpress and Walgreens team up on urgent care Improve communication, save time in practice with these methods 5 most interesting health IT partnerships this week Politics don’t change our... READ MORE

Under the federal Stark Law, hospitals may provide non-monetary compensation to physicians up to an aggregate amount of $407 for calendar year 2018. The dollar limit for “medical staff incidental benefits” (e.g., meals, parking and other items or incidental services that are used on the hospital’s campus) is less than $34 per occurrence. Other... READ MORE

On November 28, 2017, the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) rescinded Advisory Opinion 06-04, which had been issued in 2006 to Caring Voice Coalition (“Requestor”), a nonprofit, tax-exempt, charitable organization. Requestor operated a patient assistance program (“PAP”) that provided financially needy Medicare beneficiaries with Medicare premium and cost-sharing... READ MORE