Articles and Blogs

Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center will receive more than $700 million from the Bezos family over the next decade. The donation will be used to fund several clinical trials, new research capabilities and recruitment. Pacific Group has broken ground on the $5 billion dollar Helios Health and Wellness campus in Las Vegas. This is... READ MORE

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals emphasized, in affirming a district court’s ruling on a motion to dismiss, that a contract merely incorporating a statutory or regulatory payment provision by reference, without more, does not make all terms of the statutory and regulatory scheme material, express conditions of payment in False Claims Act cases.... READ MORE

A remarkable 90% of survey respondents reported construction delays, according to National Multifamily Housing Council’s latest quarterly construction survey, with permitting and start delays being the main culprits. A lack of availability in construction financing is also a rising concern. 76% of respondents said that they have experienced deals repriced up over the last... READ MORE

NATIONAL Biden administration extends COVID public health emergency Bain: 25% of clinicians want out of healthcare Bill would use CMS’s Five-Star system to punish consistently 1-star nursing homes How hospital CIOs, IT leaders prepared for the new information-blocking rule Moving the Needle on SDOH Data Physician shortages: Key stats to know Telemedicine regulation more... READ MORE

On September 20, 2022, the Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced its resolution of three separate investigations against covered entity dental providers for violations of the individual’s right of access under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”). This announcement follows the... READ MORE

On Wednesday, September 28, 2022, Hurricane Ian made landfall along western Florida as a Category 4 storm, causing significant property damage, including to many health care facilities. Those damaged facilities include a hospital in Port Charlotte where winds from the hurricane tore open part of the roof for the intensive care unit and flooded... READ MORE

HHS OIG issued a report finding “significantly reduced” improper payments to acute care hospitals, as compared with prior years. OIG found that $39.3 million in Medicare Part B payments should not have been made during 2016-2021, which was a decrease from $51.6 million in improper payments during 2013-2016. CMS has claimed that aggressive corrective... READ MORE

NATIONAL 10 states with the largest decreases to travel nurse pay After court ruling for AHA in 340B case, HHS says it will start adjusting payment rates for certain 340B hospitals within approximately two weeks Congress continues funding for federal programs through Dec. 16 Congress gives rural hospitals a reprieve, for now Hospital leaders... READ MORE

Hurricane Ian forced 16 Florida hospitals to evacuate, although only a few hospitals sustained any major damage per NBC news. American Healthcare REIT plans to go public on the New York Stock Exchange. The REIT owns 313 health care facilities in the U.S. and U.K., as well as a controlling interest in Trilogy Health... READ MORE

Recently, a Hudson County, New Jersey-based health system (“Plaintiff”) filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey alleging a conspiracy, in violation of the Sherman Act, § 2, between multiple parties to monopolize the general acute care hospital services market in Hudson County, New Jersey. Of note,... READ MORE