Articles and Blogs

On October 10, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced their unanimous vote to finalize changes to the premerger notification form and associated instructions, as well as the premerger notification rules implementing the Hart-Scott-Rodino (“HSR”) Act. The HSR Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended, requires all persons contemplating certain mergers or acquisitions that... READ MORE

On Thursday, September 26, 2024, Hurricane Helene made landfall in the southeastern United States, causing significant property damage estimated between $20 billion and $34 billion. Less than two weeks later, Hurricane Milton pounded the western coast of Florida, causing significant flooding to many parts of the state. As nonprofit hospitals and health systems assess... READ MORE

NATIONAL 92% Of U.S. Healthcare Organizations Experienced a Cyberattack in the Past Year 3 major false claims cases and what they mean for fraud crackdown 4 nonprofit health systems launch Longitude Health AHA opposes HHS interoperability rule: 6 things to know AHA: Nonprofit Hospitals Delivered 10 Times Their Federal Tax Exemption AHRQ’s new patient... READ MORE

Nonprofit health care providers affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton may qualify for FEMA relief under the Stafford Act. Hall Render published a recent article with tips on applying for disaster relief. Twenty states and 19 nonprofit organizations filed a lawsuit against HHS and CMS over recent nursing home minimum staffing mandates. The plaintiffs allege... READ MORE

California Governor Gavin Newsom has vetoed a bill that was designed to restrict private equity and hedge fund investments in the health care industry. Governor Newsom said the California Office of Health Care Affordability has sufficient authority to regulate health care transactions. Brookdale Senior Living announced plans to acquire a portfolio of 41 senior... READ MORE

NATIONAL 5 Stark law issues physicians are closely watching Anti-monopoly advocates urge FTC to block McKesson, Cardinal Health’s big-ticket oncology acquisitions Biden administration doles out $68.5M to boost behavioral health CMS’ finalized rule on suspicious billing: 6 things to know CMS keeps raising the bar for Medicare Advantage star ratings CMS nursing home voting... 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

The Federal District Court for the Middle District of Florida (“the Court”) in United States ex rel. Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates, LLC et al., recently held that a relator’s role as set forth in the False Claims Act’s (“FCA”) qui tam provision is unconstitutional under Article II’s Appointments Clause and dismissed the case.... READ MORE

On September 28, 2024, California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed California Assembly Bill 3129 (“AB 3129”), which targeted certain private equity (“PE”) and hedge fund investments in the health care industry. The California Legislature passed AB 3129 in August 2024. Its purpose is to increase regulatory scrutiny of certain investments involving health care facilities, providers... READ MORE

On September 20, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) filed an administrative complaint against Caremark Rx, Express Scripts and OptumRx, and their affiliated group purchasing organizations (“GPOs”), for engaging in anticompetitive and unfair rebate practices resulting in the artificial inflation of insulin prices. The FTC alleged that by creating a system in which drug... READ MORE