Articles and Blogs

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

The deadline for compliance with the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) is quickly approaching with millions of organizations throughout the United States required to submit beneficial ownership information to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) prior to the January 1, 2025 deadline. If you have questions about your entity’s reportability under the CTA, please seek... READ MORE

Over the past 12 months, Ascension has undergone a significant market realignment, including a strategic exit from several markets and service lines. Hospitalogy created a helpful graphic showing the health system’s larger divestments and joint venture transactions over the past year. Four health systems are vying for CON approval to build over $1B of... READ MORE

NATIONAL Alabama rural hospitals caught in ‘vicious cycle’ on Medicare wage index American Society of Anesthesiologists files trademark complaint against American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology Appeals Court resurrects PhRMA’s lawsuit challenging pricing provisions in IRA Bucking a dismal trend, a few rural towns are building new hospitals Cardinal Health acquiring Integrated Oncology Network for... READ MORE