Articles and Blogs

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

Employers increasingly understand millennials are graduating from college with heavy debt loads from student loans. The Pew Research Center reported last August that 37 percent of adults under the age of 30 have student loan debt. For young adults with a bachelor’s degree or greater, the portion with outstanding student loans rises to 53 percent. Moreover,…Read More

Most health care providers caring for federal health care program beneficiaries are familiar with the False Claims Act[1] (“FCA”) and its qui tam provision,[2] which grants private citizens the right to sue health care providers on behalf of the federal government. The seemingly routine 6+ figure FCA settlements garner much-deserved attention. After all, providers can…Read More

Senate and House Work to Combat the Opioid Crisis On June 13, Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR), Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX), Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Richard Neal (D-MA) introduced H.R. 6, the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention…Read More

NATIONAL Health Organizations Urge HHS to Recognize MA Providers in MACRA AHA report: Hospitals spend almost $3 trillion, support more than 16 million jobs Berkshire-Amazon-JPMorgan choose healthcare CEO, announcement coming soon Patients face large bills as air ambulance rides proliferate Health IT stakeholders urge CMS to adopt 3 new remote monitoring reimbursement codes CMS give…Read More

For years, we have reported on the multitude of decisions from the Board striking down employer handbook rules. Many of these decisions were based on a standard set forth in the Lutheran Heritage case, which provided, in part, that a rule or policy maintained by an employer is unlawful if “employees would reasonably construe the…Read More

NATIONAL Are hospital readmissions an accurate quality measure? These 2 researchers aren’t so sure Physician groups raise alarm over potential dearth of medical residents in July due to visa delays Hospitals are losing money on employed physicians: Here’s how to save the bottom line and your staff 340B cuts sting struggling hospitals, hurt credit ratings,…Read More