Articles and Blogs

Senate Votes Down ACA Repeal Attempt In the early morning of July 28, the Senate voted down (49-51) a last ditch effort by Senate Republican leadership to repeal the ACA. Republican leadership and the White House were hoping to pass a “skinny” ACA repeal bill that would have eliminated the individual mandate and blocked the…Read More

NATIONAL 4 legislative updates impacting ASCs Senate health care bill: Where we are now Telehealth Licensure Compact for Nurses Gets the Green Light Healthcare CEO pay climbs steadily since ACA passage Hospital Stocks Slide After HCA Healthcare’s Earnings Stumble Analysis: 6 medical specialties with at least $1.5M more ROI than investment bankers Economic Pressures Weigh…Read More

It is no secret that physician recruitment in rural areas can be challenging for hospitals and other health care entities. Though some doctors may be drawn to living in areas with less hustle and bustle, many prefer areas with larger populations and more opportunities. Rural health care needs are sometimes difficult to address, but there…Read More

On July 13, 2017, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released its proposed rule for the Calendar Year (“CY”) 2018 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (“Proposed Rule”). Among many other changes, CMS proposed to reduce the payment rate, again, for certain non-excepted (non-grandfathered) off-campus provider-based hospital departments (“PBDs”) by changing its so-called MPFS Relativity…Read More

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced on July 24, 2017 that it would resume premium processing for certain cap-exempt H-1B petitions effective immediately. Premium processing allows petitioners to pay a fee to receive a decision from USCIS within 15 calendar days. Without premium processing, wait times can extend for long periods, which delays start…Read More

This is another article in a series discussing the complete overhaul of Part 483 to Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations, the Requirements for States and Long-Term Care Facilities (“Final Regulations”) by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”). Hall Render published an overview of Final Regulations components as well as Parts 1, 2,…Read More

Senate Plans Scrambled on Health Reform Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) once again delayed proceedings on Republican plans for health care reform. While McConnell is still considering whether to hold a vote on a bill to repeal and replace the ACA or a repeal-only measure, Republicans remain at odds over Medicaid, overall coverage numbers,…Read More

NATIONAL Health Care Overhaul Collapses as Two Republican Senators Defect ONC to eliminate Office of the Chief Privacy Officer in FY18 As academic hospitals lower mortality rates, should insurers reconsider excluding them? CMS Issues Proposed 2018 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule 8 must-reads for healthcare leaders this week Nonprofit hospitals record greater revenue, less charity care…Read More

On July 17, 2017, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) published an updated Work Plan for Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2017 (“Work Plan”) that includes 14 added areas of planned or ongoing legal and investigative initiatives. OIG historically publishes the Work Plan annually, most recently in Fall 2016, and uses the…Read More

On June 29, 2017, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) issued a favorable advisory opinion, Advisory Opinion 17-02, concerning a hospital (the “Hospital”) outpatient facility’s proposal to waive or reduce cost-sharing amounts owed by financially needy Medicare beneficiaries for items and services furnished in connection with a clinical research…Read More