Articles and Blogs

On November 6, 2023, the Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) issued new General Compliance Program Guidance (“GCPG”) for members of the health care compliance community and other health care stakeholders. Since the release of its first compliance program guidance (“CPG”) for hospitals in 1998, OIG has developed a... READ MORE

NATIONAL 340B repayments welcomed but concern remains, hospital group says 4 pieces of legislation fighting to alleviate the physician shortage crisis AHA Files Lawsuit Challenging HHS Guidance on Tracking Technologies AHA says 3.1% hospital outpatient payment increase is not enough Amazon launches One Medical for Prime American Healthcare REIT may acquire Trilogy Health Services... READ MORE

Presbyterian Healthcare Services and UnityPoint Health executives have agreed not to pursue a planned cross-market merger that would have created a system of nearly 50 hospitals. The nonprofit systems proposed the partnership in March; however, financial issues have led to the merger being abandoned. Walgreens plans to close 60 underperforming VillageMD clinics and exit... READ MORE

NATIONAL A quiet ‘pharmageddon’ walkout AHA: Nursing Home Staffing Mandate Would Not Align with Modern Clinical Practice, Stifle Innovation AMA, allies plead for leniency as Medicare pay penalties loom ANA announces support for federal staffing ratios bill Apple eyes behavioral health space Clinically integrated networks poised to boost rural healthcare CMS’ CFO on the... READ MORE

Healthpeak Properties, Inc. and Physicians Realty Trust have announced an all-stock merger valued at around $21 billion. The combined company will possess a 52-million-square-foot healthcare real estate portfolio. The company will operate under the name of Healthpeak Properties, Inc. and trade as “DOC” on the NYSE. Last week, mortgage rates reached their highest level... READ MORE

The U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) recently unveiled a department-wide Safe Harbor Policy for voluntary self-disclosures made in the mergers and acquisition (“M&A”) process. This Safe Harbor Policy (“Policy”) is aimed at incentivizing acquiring companies to identify and timely disclose misconduct discovered during the due diligence and post-acquisition integration process. Acquiring companies that disclose... READ MORE

According to a recent study, physician-owned hospitals treated some of the most expensive Medicare beneficiaries at significantly lower costs compared to traditional hospitals, despite serving similar patient populations. The study follows a recent Congressional hearing that debated legislation to loosen restrictions on physician-owned hospitals. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court will weigh in on the extent... READ MORE

NATIONAL AMA president sounds alarm on national physician shortage AHA participates in federal roundtable on health sector cybersecurity Bernie Sanders pushes nonprofit hospitals to provide more charity care Feds Issue HIPAA Guidance on Employee Sanctions, Telehealth Health care organizations urge Congress to continue APM incentives Hospitals continue to wrestle with staffing shortages Hospital execs still... READ MORE

Rite Aid has filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code. In connection with the filing, Rite Aid plans to reject over 300 leases as the debt-ridden company looks to downsize its “sub-optimal” brick-and-mortar footprint. Closing underperforming locations is a crucial part of the company’s restructuring plan. Deloitte released its Global... READ MORE

Effective October 1, 2023, Connecticut enacted a law that contains several updates to Connecticut’s change of ownership laws for nursing homes and other health care providers. Changes to Connecticut’s Change of Ownership (“CHOW”) Laws – All Providers Connecticut Public Act 23-122 (“CHOW Law”) replaces Section 19a-493 of the Connecticut General Statutes. The CHOW Law creates new change... READ MORE