Articles and Blogs

NATIONAL A flurry of hospital M&A moves to start November Aetna, Optum to settle ‘dummy code’ class-action case AHA urges Congress to act on key priorities for hospitals before end of the year AMA calls for tougher oversight of nonprofit hospitals AMA considers MyChart billing resolution: 5 things to know Amazon One Medical launches... READ MORE

On November 7, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) published a final rule (“Final Rule”) that added a new condition of participation for home health agencies (“HHA”) to participate in Medicare under the “Medicare Program; Calendar Year (“CY”) 2025 Home Health Prospective Payment System (“HH PPS”) Rate Update” for the calendar... READ MORE

Health care continues to drive private equity (“PE”) activity, creating opportunities for investors and traditional health care providers. Transactions in the health care space are especially complicated, layering health care regulatory and reimbursement considerations on top of a complex securities, antitrust, privacy and security framework. Hall Render’s PE team of attorneys and advisors leverage... READ MORE

With the use of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) systems becoming more and more prevalent in workplaces across the country, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) has released guidance on the development and use of AI by employers. This document, entitled “Artificial Intelligence and Worker Well-being: Principles and Best Practices for Developers and Employers,” (“Best Practices”)... READ MORE

NATIONAL 9 states targeting private equity CMS finalizes physician pay cut, while skilled nursing docs, others press for fix CMS finalizes 2025 fee schedule: 5 behavioral health updates CMS issues new hospital maternal health, safety standards: 8 things to know CMS updates ASC reporting requirements: 5 things to know CMS’ hospital capacity reporting rule... READ MORE

PNC’s Q3 2024 Corporate Healthcare Index highlighted several industry trends, including increased M&A activity, improved access to capital and nonprofit hospital credit rating downgrades outpacing upgrades. Blue Cross Blue Shield recently agreed to a $2.8 billion settlement with health care providers to resolve an antitrust class-action lawsuit alleging that the insurer restricted competition through... READ MORE

Health care continues to drive private equity (“PE”) activity, creating opportunities for investors and traditional health care providers. Transactions in the health care space are especially complicated, layering health care regulatory and reimbursement considerations on top of a complex securities, antitrust, privacy and security framework. Hall Render’s PE team of attorneys and advisors leverage... READ MORE

On November 1, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released a final rule (“Final Rule”) that calls for Medicare-certified and Medicaid-certified nursing homes (“LTC Facilities”) to electronically report information on acute respiratory illnesses, including influenza (“flu”), severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (“SARS-CoV-2”)/coronavirus 2019 (“COVID”) and respiratory syncytial virus (“RSV”). Effective Date... READ MORE

On November 5, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) extended the due date to complete and submit the new Form CMS-855A SNF Disclosures Attachment for every Skilled Nursing Facility (“SNF”). CMS announced that regardless of when the SNF received its notice of revalidation letter from its MAC (i.e., October, November or... READ MORE

What is a Marketability Act? A regular nightmare for any practitioner representing sellers, buyers or borrowers in real estate transactions is receiving a title commitment for the subject property, only to find exceptions to the title that contain deed restrictions or development agreements from 50 years ago to which the buyer or lender will... READ MORE