Articles and Blogs

Rumors Swirl as Deadline for SGR Deal Nears With the Sustainable Growth Rate (“SGR”) “patch” set to expire on March 31, 2015, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) have been discussing a possible deal on a permanent repeal and replacement of the physician payment formula.  Earlier in the week, it…Read More

In Indiana Patient’s Compensation Fund v. Holcomb, the Indiana Supreme Court addressed a question of first impression regarding whether Indiana’s Medical Malpractice Act’s cap on attorney fees from a Patient Compensation Fund (“Fund”) award also applies to reduce the Fund’s liability. Holcomb was an adult wrongful death medical malpractice case in which the trial court…Read More

With the last Sustainable Growth Rate (“SGR”) “patch” set to expire on March 31, 2015, lawmakers on Capitol Hill must soon decide whether to pass another “patch” or to finally tackle the issue of permanent SGR repeal and replacement. Just last week, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman…Read More

On March 9, 2015, Wisconsin became the 25th state to enact Right to Work legislation with Governor Scott Walker signing Senate Bill No. 44 into law.Wisconsin’s Right to Work law “prohibits a person from requiring, as a condition of obtaining or continuing employment, an individual to refrain or resign from membership in a labor organization, to become or…Read More

 Right to Work Becomes Law in Wisconsin Wisconsin, long known as a bastion for unions and the labor movement, has become the 25th Right to Work state after Governor Scott Walker signed Senate Bill No. 44 into law on March 9, 2015. Wisconsin’s new Right to Work law will prohibit employers from requiring employees to join…Read More

Employers that sponsor retirement and health plans subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) face significant potential fiduciary liability under the law. However, many employers have little or no training for their executives and staff on discharging those fiduciary responsibilities so as to limit that liability. Training can be costly and difficult to…Read More

Recently, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) published additional guidance for Medicare eligible hospitals seeking to avoid the 2016 Medicare EHR Incentive Program payment adjustment. Medicare eligible hospitals can avoid the 2016 payment adjustment by taking action by April 1 and applying for a 2016 hardship exception. The hardship exception application and instructions for Medicare eligible…Read More

A company that provides wheelchair accessible van transportation services to clients, including the Department of Veterans Affairs, got into trouble when it required employees to sign a confidentiality agreement that the NLRB found interfered with employees’ protected rights. The company was ordered to rescind the unlawful portions of the agreement and notify all employees that the…Read More

Code Section 501(r) and its corresponding regulations will pose significant challenges for tax-exempt hospital organizations in 2015 and beyond.  While operational personnel will shoulder much of the implementation burden, hospital CEOs and board members must have a general understanding of the new requirements to ensure that the compliance efforts proceed on schedule and to develop…Read More

House Republicans Release ACA Alternative On Monday, March 2, the chairmen of the three health-related committees in the House of Representatives, Reps. Paul Ryan (R-WI), Fred Upton (R-MI) and John Kline (R-MN), outlined an Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) alternative for states that opt out of running a federal exchange. The proposal, which was published in…Read More