Articles and Blogs

Georgia legislators have passed a bill to relax Certificate of Need rules for certain hospital projects in rural areas of the state. The bill still requires additional approvals before it becomes law. Florida legislators proposed a series of bills to limit the liability of passive investors in assisted living facilities (“ALFs”) located in Florida.... READ MORE

On March 1, 2024, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama ruled that the Corporate Transparency Act (the “CTA”) is unconstitutional because it exceeds Congress’s enumerated powers under the United States Constitution. The CTA, enacted on January 1, 2024, mandates the creation of the Beneficial Ownership Secure System database and... READ MORE

On February 16, 2024, the Supreme Court of Alabama (“the Court”) published a decision in LePage v. Center for Reproductive Medicine (“LePage“), holding that frozen embryos are considered children under Alabama’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act (the “Act”), which provides parents with a private right of action against any person whose wrongful act,... READ MORE

Health care REITs Healthpeak Properties, Inc. and Physicians Realty Trust closed a $21B merger. The combined company oversees a 52 million-sf portfolio, including 40 million sf of outpatient medical office properties concentrated in high-growth markets such as Dallas, Houston, Nashville, Phoenix and Denver. The remaining square footage is lab space. A recent NEJM Catalyst... READ MORE

NATIONAL AHA says Change Healthcare attack may impact hospital finances Amazon’s One Medical deal: 1 year later Certificate of need laws, hospitals impede birthing centers Change Healthcare outage lingers as AHA urges caution Cybersecurity incident impacting nation’s pharmacies DarioHealth buys mental health app Twill, setting sights on profitability Despite sectorwide financial recovery, not all... READ MORE

Earlier this month, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) withdrew its complaint challenging the IQVIA and Propel Media merger after the parties announced their intent to abandon the deal. The decision comes after the FTC successfully secured a preliminary injunction in the District Court for the Southern District of New York (“the Court”) in January.... READ MORE

On February 22, 2024, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that it recovered over $2.68 billion in False Claims Act (“FCA”) settlements and judgments during the 2023 federal fiscal year. Notably, this amount stems from the highest number of settlements and judgments in a single year, including 543 settlements and judgments during this last... READ MORE

JLL released its 2024 Senior Housing Investor Survey. Key takeaways: 1. Senior housing occupancy continues to show recovery following the pandemic; 2. Transaction volume was down 33% last year based on challenges in the capital markets; 3. Cap rates sit at 7%; 4. Construction starts are down more than 50% from 2021 peak levels;... READ MORE

NATIONAL 382 rural hospitals cut chemotherapy, breakdown by state 1 year after Amazon-One Medical deal finalized: What’s happened since ACOs want increased participation of long-term and post-acute care providers ‘Behind the times’: DC tries to catch up with AI’s use in health care CMS finalizes DSH payment cuts for some safety-net hospitals: 8 things... READ MORE

In the FY 2024 IPPS Final Rule (the “Final Rule”), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) incorporated certain social risk factors into the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (“VBP”) Program (“the Program”). Set to begin in the FFY 2026 payment year, CMS will be using data on inpatient stays from January 1, 2024 through... READ MORE