Articles and Blogs

Executive Summary Riding the wave of an unprecedented winning streak and continuing its trend of aggressive antitrust enforcement in the hospital merger arena, the FTC recently challenged three proposed hospital mergers – one in West Virginia, one in Pennsylvania and one in Chicago, Illinois – in a two-month period.  In each challenge, the FTC alleged…Read More

MedPAC Releases Payment Recommendations for Hospital Services On January 14, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (“MedPAC”) released its 2017 payment recommendations to Congress for hospital inpatient and outpatient services. The commission’s recommendations would increase total spending on hospital services by 1.65 percent. MedPAC voted to cut Medicare payments by 10 percent to safety net hospitals…Read More

In an opinion filed January 5, 2016, the Illinois Fourth District Appellate Court ruled that the Illinois statute authorizing hospital property tax exemptions is unconstitutional. Until formal guidance is released from the Illinois Department of Revenue, this decision will likely create a period of uncertainty for hospitals that have secured or that are seeking hospital-based…Read More

What Happened? Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a Wage and Hour Division Administrator’s Interpretation that reasserts a broad definition of employee such that employers will rarely find that the individuals who work for them can be classified as independent contractors. This interpretation, although not having the effect of law, does indicate the…Read More

Executive Summary On December 18, 2015, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released a draft Quality Measure Development Plan (“Draft Plan”) to serve as a strategic framework for the future of clinician quality measure development for the transition to new Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (“MIPS”) and alternative payment models (“APMs”).1 The Draft Plan…Read More

Executive Summary The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued Change Request 9271 on January 4, 2016, which informs providers to waive the deductible and coinsurance for Advanced Care Planning (“ACP”) when furnished as an optional element of an Annual Wellness Visit (“AWV”). When ACP services are performed separately from a covered AWV, the…Read More

As the health care payment and delivery system continues to evolve, Hall Render attorneys are committed to providing practical counsel and insight to health care providers. Below is a compilation of key developments from 2015 that will continue to impact the health care industry in 2016. As the new year begins, our attorneys will continue to…Read More

ACA Repeal Heads to President’s Desk On January 6, the House voted 240-181 to send an Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) repeal bill (H.R. 3762) to the president’s desk through the expedited budget reconciliation process that does not require 60 votes to pass the Senate.  While the White House has said Obama will quickly veto the…Read More

Hall Render has become aware that the Department of Justice Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (“OSC”) is currently investigating numerous hospitals across the country on the grounds that the hospitals’ advertisements for podiatric residency positions may be in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”). OSC, which is responsible for…Read More

Since the September 8, 2015 publication of the notice of proposed rulemaking (“NPRM”) proposing several significant changes to the Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects (the “Common Rule”) in the Federal Register, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office of Human Research Protections (“OHRP”) has received sharp criticism from many in…Read More