Articles and Blogs

NATIONAL Feds boast largest healthcare fraud takedown ever at $2B in false claims GAO: 340B hospitals, contract pharmacies need more oversight CMS to waive MACRA’s alternative payment model requirements for Medicare Advantage under test CMS: Doctors, hospitals received $8.4B in payments from drug companies last year AHA urges CMS to expand start dates for BPCI…Read More

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) recently enacted a Final Rule removing certain compliance training requirements previously applicable to first tier, downstream and related entities (“FDRs”) of Medicare Advantage and Part D Plan Sponsors (“Plan Sponsors”). Specifically, beginning in plan year 2019, health care providers that participate in Medicare Advantage and Part D…Read More

Senate Seeks Solutions on Reducing Health Care Costs On June 27, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a hearing on how to reduce health care costs, which will examine administrative costs and waste, how to improve transparency, private sector solutions and other issues. Both Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Ranking Member Patty…Read More

On June 27, 2018, the Wisconsin Supreme Court (the “Court”) upheld the constitutionality of a state statute that establishes a $750,000 cap on medical malpractice noneconomic damages as part of Wisconsin’s unique medical liability system that also guarantees payment of all of a proper claimant’s economic damages. In Mayo v. Wis. Injured Patients and Families…Read More

NATIONAL These are 2018’s most influential physicians S. News Announces the 2018-2019 Best Children’s Hospitals Better outcomes, satisfaction with hospital-at-home care programs: JAMA study Walmart Just Scored a Patent for a Blockchain-Based Health Care Records System Atul Gawande: Amazon-Berkshire-JPMorgan venture will tackle 3 types of healthcare waste White House releases extensive plan to reorganize HHS…Read More

As pointed out in prior blog posts—see, for example, this post from 2017 and this 2018 blog post—with the recent #MeToo movement and the sexual harassment allegations that continue to garner media coverage on a national platform, employers across the country should be taking proactive steps to curb sexual harassment and incivility in the workplace….Read More

CMS Issues RFI for Stark Law On June 20, CMS released a request for information (“RFI”) seeking feedback on ways to improve the Stark Law, which limits how doctors can refer patients to businesses in which they have a financial interest. Largely seen as a barrier to value-based care arrangements, the agency is asking for information on…Read More

On June 20, 2018, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued a Request for Information (“RFI”) seeking feedback from health care industry stakeholders on the burdens of compliance with the Stark Law as it exists today. Earlier in the day, Kelly Cleary from the HHS Office of the General Counsel and HHS Deputy…Read More

NATIONAL More Doctor Pay Tied To Patient Satisfaction And Outcomes Highest hospital CEO turnover is in these states Patents hold clues about Apple, Amazon, Google and Microsoft plans for healthcare ‘An industry-wide issue’: Bad debt over $10M at one-third of hospitals Atul Gawande, the doctor and writer, named CEO of Amazon’s employee healthcare JV FDA…Read More

A Wisconsin Court of Appeals decision this week addressed the appeal of a health care practitioner who had been physically attacked by a patient and seriously injured. The practitioner commenced a civil action against the behavioral health hospital in which she worked, alleging negligence and a violation of the Safe Place Statute. The hospital argued…Read More