Articles and Blogs

On December 26, 2013, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) announced that it reached a settlement with a Massachusetts dermatology practice (“Physician Practice”) stemming from alleged violations under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) Privacy Rule. The settlement follows an investigation by the HHS Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) upon... READ MORE

Master Financing Agreements are a great financing tool for everyone considering tax-exempt financing and are now available in Indiana.  On December 19, 2013, the Indiana Finance Authority (the “IFA”) authorized a turn-key Master Financing Agreement program (the “MFA Program”).  MFA Programs are also available in other states and in some cases may be implemented with... READ MORE

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As 2013 winds to a close, some Indiana hospitals already have completed their first Community Health Needs Assessments (“CHNAs”) and related Implementation Strategies required under the Affordable Care Act, while others are putting the finishing touches on those documents.  Although the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) has clarified what most tax-exempt Hospital Organizations must do... READ MORE

A bipartisan bill (H.R. 3776) to correct the disproportionate nature of the penalties a hospital can incur for technical violations of the Stark Law was introduced in the House of Representatives on Monday by Rep. Charles Boustany (R-LA). The measure was drafted with assistance from attorneys at Hall, Render, Killian, Heath and Lyman. Ways and... READ MORE

Executive Summary Under the federal Stark Law, hospitals may provide non-monetary compensation to physicians up to an aggregate amount of $385 for calendar year 2014.  The dollar limit for “medical staff incidental benefits” (e.g., meals, parking, other items or incidental services that are used on the hospital’s campus) remains at less than $32 per... READ MORE

Executive Summary On November 15, 2013, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals released an unpublished opinion affirming Summary Judgment in favor of St. Mary Mercy Hospital in the case Brintley v. St. Mary Mercy et al. (No. 12-2616).  The court held that Dr. LaCesha Brintley was not an employee of the hospital and therefore had... READ MORE

CMS recently issued Advisory Opinion 2013-03 (“Opinion”), clarifying that a physician-owned hospital may add unlicensed observation beds without violating the limitation on expansion.1    READ MORE

On November 27, 2013, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued the Outpatient Prospective Payment System (“OPPS”) and Ambulatory Surgical Center (“ASC”) Final Rule (“Final Rule”). In this Final Rule, CMS made some significant changes, including implementing a policy to combine outpatient clinic evaluation and management visit codes into one APC and allowing... READ MORE

On November 27, 2013, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued the Physician Fee Schedule (“PFS”) Final Rule for calendar year (“CY”) 2014.  The Final Rule calls for a 20.1% reduction in payments to physicians for services rendered in CY 2014, although Congress may act to avoid this reduction.  Additionally, the Final... READ MORE