Articles and Blogs

On July 11, 2013, the Wisconsin Supreme Court (“Court”) released its decision in Outagamie County v. Melanie L., reversing the decision of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals which affirmed the circuit court’s extension of an involuntary medication order.  The full text of the opinion can be found here. Procedural Posture The case involved review of…Read More

The Administrative Review Board (“ARB”) ruled on July 22, 2013 that Florida Hospital of Orlando (“Florida Hospital”) is a covered federal subcontractor subject to Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs’ (“OFCCP”) jurisdiction by virtue of its participation as a network provider under TRICARE.  The ruling comes nine months after the same panel of judges dismissed…Read More

One of the main admission requirements for a skilled stay in a skilled nursing facility (“SNF”) is a three-day qualifying stay in an inpatient hospital.  In response to a question discussed on a recent Open Door Forum, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released a memorandum discussing if a stay in a Department…Read More

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) has rated nursing facilities since 2009 for three areas of performance: Health Inspections, Staffing, and Quality Measures. From 2009 through 2011, more than 40% saw an improvement in overall rating, while only around 27% had a most recent rating that was lower than the first. 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued a Survey and Certification Letter as a reminder of current regulations (42 C.F.R. 483.10(j)) delineating the rights of long term care (“LTC”) residents to receive family and non-family visitors.  The current guidelines grant broad discretion to the residents with respect to visitation.  Facilities must provide 24-hour visitation…Read More

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) recently released the final rule for fiscal year (“FY”) 2014 skilled nursing facility (“SNF”) prospective payment system (“PPS”) rates.  These rates will take effect October 1, the start of FY 2014.  

Hall Render Continues to Advance Stark Law Initiative The Hall Render Stark Law Correction Initiative (“SLCI”) continued to advance its efforts to obtain a technical correction amendment to the physician self-referral law this week when the Office of Legislative Counsel produced a draft of the proposed legislation. The SLCI, a coalition of health systems from…Read More

Executive Summary In an interesting Medicare Integrity Program case examining conflicting provisions 42 U.S.C. § 1395ddd(f)(3)  and 42 U.S.C. § 1395kk(a) (the “Medicare Statute”), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (the “Court”) upheld a decision of a federal district court, concluding that the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”)…Read More

In Mooney v. Anonymous, the Indiana Court of Appeals re-evaluated a trial court’s authority and jurisdiction to dismiss medical malpractice claims based upon a plaintiff’s failure to comply with the Medical Malpractice Act and to diligently prosecute the claim. Although the Court of Appeals’ decision was based upon procedural developments and global delays unique to…Read More

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) recently issued the final rule for hospice agreements with long-term care (“LTC”) providers.  The rule requires LTC facilities to have written agreements specifying the respective roles and responsibilities for the hospice and LTC provider for any arrangements for the provision of hospice care within the LTC facility.