Articles and Blogs

NATIONAL Prescription Drug Spending Higher at 340B Hospitals, Study Finds Medicaid chief out after 3 months: 3 things to know How artificial intelligence will shape the physician toolkit in 2019 Health care experts call new federally-required hospital price listings ‘not very consumer-friendly’ HHS releases voluntary cybersecurity guidance DOJ Recovers $2.5B in Healthcare Fraud, False Claims…Read More

Lawmakers Hit a Wall with Funding Negotiations – Shutdown Continues The three-week partial government shutdown continues without any progress towards an agreement to fund the federal government. Tomorrow, January 12, will mark the longest government shutdown on record as it exceeds the 21-day shutdown in 1996. Congress was in action this week. On Thursday, the…Read More

On December 27, 2018, a federal judge ruled in favor of hospital associations and hospitals challenging the reduction in reimbursement for drugs purchased at a discount under the 340B Program established in the 2018 Outpatient Prospective Payment System final rule (“2018 OPPS Rule”). Judge Rudolph Contreras of the United States District Court in Washington, D.C….Read More

Master Trust Indentures or “MTIs” have historically been implemented by hospitals and health systems as a way to pool the credit of multiple entities (the members of the “obligated group”) and create a “master trust” consisting of revenues or other assets pledged by the obligated group members under the MTI. An MTI allows the obligated…Read More

The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) reported it collected more than $2.8 billion in False Claims Act (“FCA”) settlements and verdicts in 2018.¹ This is significantly down from the record $5.69 billion recovered in 2014 and from the $3.6 billion – $4.7 billion in 2015 through 2017. This can primarily be explained by the absence of…Read More

In Justice Kavanaugh’s first written opinion since he joined the Supreme Court, he addressed one of the most common disputes associated with arbitration agreements: who decides what issues should be arbitrated? In Henry Schein, et al. v Archer & White and Sales, Inc.,¹ the Supreme Court held that it is the arbitrator, not the court, who…Read More

In October of 2018, the National Practitioner Data Bank (“NPDB”) revised the NPDB Guidebook to provide additional guidance on a number of issues. Some of the revisions will be welcomed by the health care industry, but others do not provide as much additional clarity on issues as might be desired. Following is a discussion of the…Read More

Government Shutdown Looms Even as House Passes Funding Provision This week, Congress returned from its holiday break for a limited schedule of business as lawmakers were sworn in for the 116th session of Congress. On Thursday evening, the House passed (241-190) a measure to fully fund the government agencies that have been shut down since…Read More

As you are likely aware, employers who use third parties to perform background checks (e.g., driving record, credit reports, criminal background, etc.) must comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) rules in that regard, including providing the subject consumers (applicants and employees) with notice of their rights. You may not be aware that those…Read More

After a successful ballot initiative in the fall of 2018, the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act (“MRTMA”) became effective on December 6. In essence, the law permits adults age 21 and older to possess and use marijuana for recreational purposes (within certain limits) and provides for the regulation and taxation of marijuana and…Read More