Articles and Blogs

ACA Repeal Update Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) reiterated this week his desire to release the Senate’s version of the American Health Care Act (“AHCA”) by the end of June and have a vote before the July 4 recess. However, meeting the ambitious July 4 deadline would require the Congressional Budget Office (“CBO”) to…Read More

While many providers recognize there are benefits to integrating behavioral health and primary care, reimbursement for services continue to be one of the most challenging barriers to achieving integration. The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 and the 21st Century Cures Act signed into law in December 2016 are efforts made by…Read More

On May 25, 2017, the Michigan Supreme Court dealt another blow to medical providers seeking payment for services provided to individuals injured in car accidents in Michigan. In the opinion, the court held that a medical provider does not have standing to bring a claim against a no-fault insurer for the payment of personal protection…Read More

The news of the $155 million settlement between eClinicalWorks (“eCW”), several eCW employees and the U.S. Department of Justice has left many current users of the eClinicalWorks EHR (“eCW EHR”) wondering what impact it will have upon them. First, the terms of the settlement provide several rights to current users. Second, actions taken to date…Read More

The Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) ruled on Monday, June 5, 2017 that retirement plans maintained by religiously affiliated hospitals meet the definition of a church plan under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”). As church plans, they are not subject to ERISA’s rules and regulations unless the…Read More

On May 31, 2017, 184 legislators wrote a bipartisan letter to Secretary Tom Price of the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) to request that HHS revisit and roll back a 2013 policy memo that discourages insurance companies selling Qualified Health Plans on the exchanges from accepting payments from hospitals and other third parties…Read More

Senate Republicans Begin Work on AHCA Republican senators will work through June to make what are expected to be major changes to the House-passed American Health Care Act (“AHCA”). When Congress returns the week of June 5, Senate leadership is expected to distribute a first draft of their version of the health care reform bill…Read More

On May 26, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a decision (NLRB v AEI) holding that an employment agreement provision requiring arbitration of employment disputes, but prohibiting class action or other multiple-employee arbitrations, is unlawful. The court upheld a National Labor Relations Board order striking down the provision. Employees were asked…Read More

On April 18, 2017, a class action was initiated against MDLive, Inc. asserting that MDLive inappropriately collected and disclosed patient medical information. MDLive is a low acuity telehealth platform that enables patients to communicate with physicians via their smart phones, computers or other mobile devices. Without commenting on the merits of the specific claims of…Read More

Providers and payers alike are increasingly exploring ways to treat the “whole person” by integrating behavioral health care with physical medicine. This integration is critical to helping achieve better outcomes and increasing quality of care. Achieving full integration has proven to be quite challenging, including navigating the legal and compliance requirements when designing and implementing…Read More