Articles and Blogs

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (“HHS”) Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) issued a Notice of Final Determination finding that Cignet Health of Prince George’s County, MD (“Cignet”) violated the Privacy Rule of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”). HHS imposed a civil money penalty (“CMP”) of $4.3... READ MORE

Executive Summary For several years, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has taken the position that teaching hospitals are exempt from the annual H-1B cap on the basis of affiliation agreements with institutions of higher education where clinical training for students is provided onsite at the hospital.  With increasing frequency, USCIS is now... READ MORE

Executive Summary After making significant revisions to the Hospital Conditions of Participation Interpretive Guidelines for Anesthesia Services (“Interpretive Guidelines”) only thirteen months ago, CMS has once again revisited and revised the Interpretive Guidelines. An advance copy of the newly revised Interpretive Guidelines was published January 14, 2011 and was effective immediately. The Interpretive Guidelines... READ MORE

Executive Summary The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) recently issued an administrative directive designed to clarify its position as to when health care providers are considered federal contractors or subcontractors subject to affirmative action obligations. The directive, which does not have the force of law, sets forth OFCCP’s own opinions and provides... READ MORE

Two developments from the NLRB in the past week are of great significance for all private employers, whether or not a union is involved. These developments both involve individual employee rights to engage in concerted activity free of employer interference. Facebook Criticism of Supervision Leads to Litigation – and Settlement The NLRB’s famous “Facebook... READ MORE

Executive Summary  The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) has proposed a new rule requiring certain categories of Medicare providers and suppliers (“Providers”) to formally notify Medicare beneficiaries of their right to communicate health care concerns to the local Medicare quality improvement organization (“QIO”) and/or to the state survey agency (“Proposed Rule”).  The... READ MORE

This installment of Hall Render’s Health Law Broadcast series on health care reform is designed to provide you with the insight, analysis and practical suggestions with respect to the various reform initiatives that will affect your organization.  On January 31, 2011, Senior U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson issued his much-anticipated order in favor of... READ MORE

If you are a tenant in a medical office building and do not appreciate the difference between “rentable” area and “usable” area you may be paying more (or less) rent for the space than what is fair and reasonable.  In May, the Building Owners and Managers Association (“BOMA”) updated its measurement methodology for office... READ MORE

In 2010, a number of decisions were handed down by state courts reviewing property tax exemptions for hospitals and healthcare providers.  Out of those decisions, the opinion by the Illinois Supreme Court in Provena Covenant Medical Center v. The Department of Revenue deserves special attention. In its opinion, the Illinois Supreme Court reviewed the facts surrounding... READ MORE

Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Thompson v. North American Stainless, LP, and answered in the affirmative the question of whether an employee who is terminated because of the filing of a charge of discrimination by a closely related employee may sue for retaliation under Title VII. What the Case... READ MORE