Articles and Blogs

NATIONAL Apple wants to gather all your medical records in the Health app 10 predictions for healthcare industry growth in 2018 Kaufman Hall: Hospital M&A jumped 13% from 2016 U.S. telehealth industry eyes Medicare for its next big check What To Watch In Health Care In 2018: Six Key Trends ‘Not a lot of good…Read More

Due to an expiration of certain provisions in the Social Security Act, there are several changes to the Medicare therapy caps effective for dates of service on or after January 1, 2018. Hospitals and other therapy providers should review these changes to determine their impact on current operations. Therapy providers should also monitor legislation because…Read More

Recently, the D.C. Court of Appeals held that CMS Manual instructions are general statements of policy, which have no binding effect. Although this case involved a procedural claim, the court’s decision reminds providers that solely relying on CMS Manual instructions as guidance for Medicare coverage criteria could result in potential Medicare payment compliance issues. Background…Read More

In its recent MLN Connects for January 25, 2018, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued a reminder to providers regarding appropriate change in ownership reporting. Notification Requirements All physicians, non-physician practitioners, physician practitioner organizations and non-physician practitioner organizations are required to report any changes in ownership, as well as changes in practice…Read More

Employers rightfully rejoiced last summer when they learned they would not be required to include pay data on their 2017 EEO-1 report. Indeed, as we reported last August, that new and controversial requirement has been put on hold—perhaps forever. But, covered employers are still required to report workforce race/ethnicity and gender information by job category. The deadline to…Read More

On January 19, 2018, in Manitowoc Co., Inc. v. Lanning, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that a non-solicitation of employees (“NSE”) clause in an employment contract was covered by the state’s statute limiting the enforceability of covenants not to compete between employers and their employees. The court upheld a lower court decision, which Hall Render…Read More

NATIONAL Six things to know about CMS’ new bundled payment model The big bang is coming in health care, and it will spark the next industrial revolution Medical industry trends toward more openness after errors Hospitals’ best-laid plans upended by disaster CMS to form interagency group to review Stark Law: 4 things to know Cardiologists…Read More

Congress Votes to End Government Shutdown After a three-day government shutdown, the Senate voted 81-18 on Monday to fund the government through February 8, 2018. The continuing resolution (“CR”) was then sent to the House, where it passed 266-150. President Trump subsequently signed the bill into law on January 22. The three-week CR includes a…Read More

On January 3, 2018, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (“SAMHSA”) issued final regulations (“Final Rule“)[i] intended to update and modernize the Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder Patient Records regulations at Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 2 (“Part 2“).[ii] The…Read More

In United States ex rel. Schneider v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, Nat’l Ass’n [1], the D.C. Circuit re-affirms its position that contingent penalties are not obligations under the False Claims Act (“FCA”). BACKGROUND In the initial suit[2], Relator brought a qui tam action under the FCA against mortgage loan servicer JPMorgan Chase (“Chase”), alleging, in part,…Read More