Articles and Blogs

More and more, we receive questions from clients about their obligations to accommodate pregnant employees in the workplace. Regardless of whether or not the pregnant employee is disabled as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), employers must consider whether pregnancy discrimination laws require an accommodation, including whether pregnant employees are entitled to a…Read More

Focus in Washington Shifts to the Opioid Crisis The federal response to the opioid epidemic is accelerating as both the Trump administration and members of Congress announced new steps this week to tackle the issue from both a law enforcement and public health standpoint. On March 1, the White House held a summit on the…Read More

NATIONAL CMS moves forward with new voluntary bundled payment AMA seeks MAT changes to combat opioid crisis 35 hospital groups urge court to halt $1.6B in Medicare payment cuts 20 states file lawsuit against federal government calling the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional Moody’s warns hospitals to beware of payer growth strategies on margins, bargaining power…Read More

Proposed Rule Released for Short-Term Health Insurance Plans On February 20, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a proposed rule to extend the availability of a lower cost, more narrowly tailored form of insurance called short-term limited duration health insurance plans. This would allow consumers to buy short-term health plans of up to…Read More

NATIONAL EHR interoperability, connectivity a big challenge around globe new study finds AHA Asks CMS to Delay New Bundled Payment Model Anthem amends ER policy but stands behind decision not to pay for avoidable emergency care Albertsons, Rite Aid deal creates U.S. supermarket and health care giant Health experts suggest signing bank loans at hospitals…Read More

In February of 2017, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas ordered a Texas hospital (the “Hospital”) “to immediately submit to the National Practitioners Data Bank a Void Report” regarding a physician whose clinical privileges were restricted by the Hospital’s medical executive committee, resulting in a report to the National Practitioner Data Bank…Read More

Earlier this month, OFCCP mailed 1,000 letters to unlucky companies notifying them that they are on the agency’s “to be audited” list. Known as Corporate Scheduling Announcement Letters (“CSALs”), the letters are provided as a courtesy in the hope that the company will be better prepared for the compliance review that is soon to follow. Like…Read More

Trump Budget Proposes Cuts to HHS and Entitlement Programs On February 12, the White House released President Trump’s FY 2019 budget proposal, which seeks major cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services. If enacted into law, the budget would cut the HHS discretionary budget by 21 percent and slash Medicare and Medicaid spending…Read More

NATION All 71 new 2017 ASCs by specialty Follow the money: Inpatient surgery moving out of hospitals into ambulatory centers Study: Only one-quarter of clinicians comfortable with value-based payment program Amazon eyes another healthcare shake-up: Getting into supply chain AHA recommends CMS delay application deadline for BPCI Advanced Gottlieb Outlines FY 2019 Budget Goals Female…Read More

Congress Passes Massive Budget Bill with Numerous Health Care Provisions In the early morning of February 9, Congress passed a two-year budget deal containing substantial implications for health care. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 sets new limits on how much the federal government can spend in the next two years. The budget deal keeps…Read More