Articles and Blogs

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released the 2025 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (“IPPS”) Final Rule (“Final Rule”) on August 1, 2024. Taking effect on October 1, 2024, the Final Rule confirms CMS will adopt updated market area delineations based on the 2020 census. The Final Rule is scheduled to be published... READ MORE

The Michigan Supreme Court (the “Court”) recently reversed the Michigan Court of Appeals’ decision in Stegall v. Resource Technology Corporation, which held in February 2023 that federal and state occupational safety and health acts preempted Michigan workers’ claims for wrongful discharge in violation of public policy. On appeal, the Michigan Supreme Court held, however, that... READ MORE

NATIONAL 10 best, worst states for healthcare in 2024 AHA files amicus brief supporting reviewability of certain CMS determinations AHA to federal court: Vacate FTC’s non-compete ban CrowdStrike IT outage: What comes next for health systems Drug costs to increase 3.8% next year: Vizient Epic’s data fight spotlights privacy, access concerns ‘Health Over Wealth’:... READ MORE

Healthpeak closed on the sale of a 58-MOB portfolio to Unity Medical and Varde Partners for $674M, with assets located across 16 states. The portfolio comprises 2.76M SF of space at a reported cap rate of 6.8%. Following the recent closure of Walmart Health, Humana’s CenterWell announced it will move into 23 former Walmart... READ MORE

On July 5, 2024, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals (“the Court”) ruled that a $7.5 million award of treble damages and civil penalties in an Iowa FCA case was unconstitutional due to the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against “excessive fines.” The Court also examined other matters, including the acceptability of statistical sampling and the... READ MORE

On July 3, 2024, a federal court in Texas (“the Court”) issued a stay related to certain provisions of CMS’s Contract Year 2025 Medicare Advantage and Part D (“MAPD”) Final Rule (“2025 Final Rule”), which would change how agents and brokers are paid by Medicare Advantage (“MA”) and Part D plans. Specifically, the Court... READ MORE

On June 24, 2024, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) released a final rule implementing disincentives for health care providers who are found by the Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) to have engaged in information blocking practices as defined under the 21st Century Cures Act. This rule establishes a framework for the... READ MORE

Ardent Health Partners completed its initial public offering and shares are now trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ARDT ticker symbol. Ardent owns 30 acute care hospitals (18 are joint ventures), operates 200 sites of care and has 1,700 affiliated providers. Ardent’s operating model focuses on joint venture hospitals in mid-sized... READ MORE

NATIONAL AHA criticizes payment structure in Pay PCPs Act Chevron ruling may spark action on PBM legislation CMS toughens Medicaid oversight after ‘unwinding’ mess Health tech company Commure to acquire Augmedix in $139M deal as AI scribe competition heats up Health systems eye ‘multi-region model’ Healthcare is an ‘easy victim’ for ransomware attacks. How... 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