Articles and Blogs

On December 5, 2013, CMS issued a Medical Learning Network Letter noting that the deadline for physician-owned hospitals to report ownership and investment information as required by the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) has been extended to March 1, 2014.  READ MORE

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Executive Summary On November 27, 2013, President Obama signed the Drug Quality and Security Act (“Act”) into law.  The Act was introduced primarily in response to longstanding issues highlighted by a deadly fungal meningitis outbreak that occurred last year.  The Act, which is aimed at ensuring providers and patients have access to safe compounded... READ MORE

The OIG recently issued Advisory Opinion 13-15 disapproving of a part-time physician services agreement between an anesthesiologist group and a psychiatry group for the provision of electroconvulsive therapy (“ECT”) procedures at a hospital (the “Proposed Arrangement”).1  The OIG stated that because of an opportunity to generate a fee as a result of a referral, the... READ MORE

Executive Summary On November 27, 2013, President Obama signed the Drug Quality and Security Act (“Act”) into law. The Act was introduced primarily in response to longstanding issues highlighted by a deadly fungal meningitis outbreak that occurred last year. The Act, which is aimed at ensuring providers and patients have access to safe compounded... READ MORE

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Yesterday afternoon, November 26, 2013, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued Proposed Regulations (available here) that would clarify the limitations on political campaign activities by tax-exempt social welfare organizations.  In connection with these Proposed Regulations, the Treasury Department and the IRS have requested comments on these limitations as well as the... READ MORE

Executive Summary Legislation aimed at ensuring providers and patients have access to safe compounded drugs was passed by both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate and will now proceed to the President for signature.  This legislation, a product of bipartisan efforts by leaders from the Senate and House committees overseeing health policy,... READ MORE

Executive Summary Earlier this month, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida held that the bonus compensation arrangements between a Florida hospital (“Hospital”) and its employed medical oncologists violated the Stark Law. The Court concluded that the Hospital’s bonus pool methodology, which included chemotherapy revenues, did not satisfy the requirements of the... READ MORE

Background The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) recently issued two advisory opinions regarding arrangements where for-profit clinical laboratories would provide certain devices without charge to physicians, including physicians that made referrals to the entities.1  These advisory opinions were the first issued by CMS in over two years.  Though the arrangements discussed in the... READ MORE