Articles and Blogs

On February 8, 2017, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (the “Court”) blocked the proposed $54 billion merger between Anthem, Inc. (“Anthem”) and Cigna Corp. (“Cigna”). This ruling comes on the heels of the Court’s decision to block the other insurance mega-merger ($37 billion) between Aetna Inc. and Humana Inc. Anthem... READ MORE

On March 20, 2017, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) published an interim final rule (the “Interim Final Rule“) effectively postponing the start date of CMS’s new episode payment models (“EPMs”) and the Cardiac Rehabilitation Incentive Payment Model (“CR Incentive Model”) from July 1, 2017 until October 1, 2017. The Interim Final... READ MORE

Background on Title IX On June 23, 1972, President Nixon signed Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 into law. Title IX provides that “[n]o person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any... READ MORE

House Budget Committee Advances American Health Care Act On March 16, the House Budget Committee voted 19-17 to advance the ACA repeal and replace legislation known as the American Health Care Act (“AHCA”). The bill passed despite the opposition of several conservatives on the committee who opposed the measure on the grounds that it... READ MORE

This is the fourth article in a series on the 21st Century Cures Act (the “Cures Act”), which was signed into law on December 13, 2016. Over the next few weeks, we will publish a series of articles summarizing various components under the Cures Act. The articles in our series are located here. This article... READ MORE

Reports from Canada and CBC News have confirmed that Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (“APRNs”), including Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists and Nurse Practitioners, who work in the United States pursuant to valid NAFTA professional (“TN”) visas have been denied entry to the United States within the past week. These APRNs have been informed by U.S.... READ MORE

The Michigan Board of Medicine (the “Board”) recently updated provisions of the Michigan Administrative Code (the “Code”) related to English proficiency requirements, training related to identifying victims of human trafficking, delegation of prescriptive authority for schedule II controlled substances and continuing medical education. Specifically, the Board made the following updates to the Code. English... READ MORE

Title IX: Increasing Access to Care and Strengthening the Mental Health Workforce This is the third article in a series on the 21st Century Cures Act (the “Cures Act”), which was signed into law on December 13, 2016. We will continue publishing a series of articles summarizing various components under the Cures Act. The... READ MORE

House Republicans Make Progress on ACA Repeal and Replacement On March 6, House Republicans released their long-awaited budget reconciliation package, the American Health Care Act, which is intended to repeal and replace significant portions of the Affordable Care Act. Two days later, the House Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means committees conducted epic... READ MORE

This is the second article in a series on the 21st Century Cures Act (the “Cures Act”), which was signed into law on December 13, 2016. Over the next few weeks, we will publish a series of articles summarizing various components under the Cures Act. The articles in our series are located here. Title VI... READ MORE