Articles and Blogs

House Passes Bill Redefining ACA’s Full-Time Work Week On Thursday, January 8, the House passed legislation changing the Affordable Care Act’s (“ACA”) definition of a full-time work week from 30 to 40 hours.  The bill was sponsored by Rep. Todd Young (R-IN) and passed 252-172 with 12 Democrats supporting the measure.  The bill now moves…Read More

As Hall Render previously reported, the IRS released the long awaited Code Section 501(r) final regulations on December 29, 2014.  The significance of Code Section 501(r) and these final regulations for tax-exempt hospital organizations cannot be overstated as they represent the biggest change to the tax exemption criteria for hospitals since the IRS announced the…Read More

Executive Summary Under the federal Stark Law, hospitals may provide non-monetary compensation to physicians up to an aggregate amount of $392 for calendar year 2015.  The dollar limit for “medical staff incidental benefits” (e.g., meals, parking and other items or incidental services that are used on the hospital’s campus) has been increased to less than…Read More

In December of 2014, Massachusetts finalized a state law that requires physicians to demonstrate proficiency in using EHRs and/or being a “meaningful user” under the Department of Health and Human Services’ Meaningful Use Electronic Health Record Incentive Program (“Meaningful Use Program”) as a condition of licensure. Massachusetts’ changes to the license requirements are another indication of how…Read More

Two proposed regulations under the Medicare & Medicaid EHR Incentive Program (“MU Program”) were submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) on December 31, 2014.  The two related proposed regulations relate to Stage 3 and the submission to OMB represents the first step toward the proposed regulations being published and available for review by…Read More

As the health care 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 fifteen developments from 2014 that will continue to impact the health care industry in 2015. As the new year begins, our attorneys will continue to monitor,…Read More

Hall Render advised readers of a memorandum opinion issued December 22, 2014¹ by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, in which it struck down some, but not all, of the revised companionship services regulations (the “Regulations”) that are currently set to become effective on January 1, 2015. In this ruling, the court…Read More

On December 29, the IRS released the long awaited final regulations under Code Section 501(r) applicable to hospital organizations exempt from tax under Code Section 501(c)(3). The final regulations indicate that they apply to tax years that begin after December 29, 2015, which will give all tax-exempt hospital organizations at least one year to come into…Read More

In a memorandum opinion issued December 22, 2014,1 the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia struck down some, but not all, of the revised companionship services regulations (the “Regulations”) that are currently set to become effective on January 1, 2015. The ruling comes out of a legal challenge brought against the United States…Read More

SGR Repeal, Changes to Medicare Left Out of $1.1 Trillion Spending Deal On December 13, the $1.1 trillion spending bill passed the Senate and will fund the government through September 2015.  Twenty-one Senate Democrats voted against it, but the deal passed by a 56-40 margin.  The bill does not include any major changes to Medicare…Read More