Articles and Blogs

A Modern Healthcare article highlighted ways providers are increasingly turning to real estate transactions to generate cash flow to ease financial pressures and help navigate evolving care delivery models. A JLL survey indicated that 44% of hospital clients expect their real estate portfolio to shrink over the next 3-5 years. Intermountain welcomed its first... READ MORE

On October 5, 2023, the Office of Research Integrity (“ORI”) of the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking intended to update the Public Health Service (“PHS”) Policies on Research Misconduct, last revised in 2005 (the “Proposed Rule”). The Proposed Rule would significantly impact how research institutions handle allegations... READ MORE

NATIONAL $2.4B+ worth of healthcare deals to know Alleged Medicare catheter billing scam could cost $2B Amazon’s One Medical to close offices, move CFO to new role Amazon, Optum, CVS, Walmart and Walgreens: Top contenders in the race to acquire physicians CMS Updates Policy to Allow Texting Patient Information and Patient Orders Cyberattacks continue... READ MORE

In the recent case of Murray v. UBS Securities LLC et al., the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that whistleblowers do not need to show retaliatory intent as part of a retaliation claim against an employer under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (“SOX”), which governs corporate financial reporting and recordkeeping. The Supreme Court reinstated a $900,000... READ MORE

Novant Health acquired three hospitals in South Carolina from Tenet Healthcare for $2.4B, including Hilton Head Hospital, East Cooper Medical Center and Coastal Carolina Hospital. The next state considering Certificate of Need (CON) reform is Kentucky according to a recent Becker’s article. At least four bills have been introduced to change the CON law,... READ MORE

NATIONAL AHA, others urge Supreme Court to review challenge to HHS interpretation of DSH formula    AHA: Anti-hospital Group Misleads on Site-neutral Impact on Rural Access to Care AHA: New Error-Ridden 340B Study Misses the Mark Amazon to lay off hundreds in healthcare division At inaugural food-as-medicine summit, HHS announces partnerships to bolster the movement... READ MORE

The Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (“HSR Act”), as amended, requires all persons contemplating certain mergers or acquisitions that meet or exceed the jurisdictional thresholds (shown below) to file a premerger notification (an “HSR Filing”) with the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) Premerger Notification Office and Department of Justice (“DOJ”) Antitrust Division and to... READ MORE

On January 18, 2024, the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Prescription Drug Promotion (“OPDP”) issued its first enforcement letter of the year. Last year, OPDP did not issue its first enforcement letter until July, as we discussed here, which makes us wonder whether we will see an increase in enforcement this year. As... READ MORE

Becker’s published a roundup of seven rehabilitation hospitals opening or expanding thus far in 2024, including projects in Florida, New Mexico, Tennessee, Missouri, Ohio, South Dakota and Massachusetts. One of the projects will have a unit dedicated to pediatric rehabilitation. American Healthcare REIT, Inc. announced its pending IPO. The REIT owns MOBs, senior housing,... READ MORE

NATIONAL Amazon Pharmacy, One Medical pilot program integrates medication consultations Bad news for FTC’s noncompete ban Cigna to sell Medicare business to HCSC for $3.3B CMS proposes Medicare Advantage rate cut CMS seeks input to strengthen Medicare Advantage data, transparency Healthcare CFOs explore M&A, automation and service line cuts in 2024 Hospital merger activity... READ MORE