Articles and Blogs

A private employer planning on downsizing or implementing a reduction in force (“RIF”) has many items on its checklist to consider.  The employer that intends to offer severance pay benefits must understand how Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) may impact the RIF.  Severance pay arrangements fall into one of three classifications under ERISA…Read More

This Health Care Tax News article is Part II in a series discussing the proposed regulations under Code Section 501(r).  The previous installment provided a general overview of why Hospital Organizations should move forward to comply with the proposed regulations and can be accessed by clicking here.  Following enactment of the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) in…Read More

This Health Care Tax News article is Part I in a series discussing the proposed regulations under Code Section 501(r). Since the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) imposed four significant new requirements on tax-exempt Hospital Organizations, the IRS has offered various forms of guidance for complying with the new law, including two detailed sets of proposed regulations. …Read More

Hospitals, health systems and other large users of Microsoft, Adobe and similar software are experiencing increased license auditing.  Because of the dynamic nature of the IT environment, most users operate in varying degrees of compliance with their license agreements.  In the event of an audit, the cost of compliance, known or unknown, can be significant…Read More

This week a Court in the Middle District of Florida dealt a blow to a whistleblower’s allegations of fraud in U.S. ex rel. Baklid-Kunz v. Halifax Hospital Medical Center ruling that: (1) the Relator is barred from recovering damages even if it can prove its allegations and (2) the Relator is barred from arguing or presenting…Read More

CMS Releases Home Health Proposed Rule On July 1, CMS issued a proposed rule that would trim Medicare payments to home health agencies by 0.3% in 2015.  The cut reflects the second of four years of “rebasing” home health payments as required by the ACA. The CMS proposal also changes the rules regarding face-to-face encounters between…Read More

On several occasions over the past year, the IRS has publicly expressed its intention to clear a significant backlog of exemption applications.  With its July 1 release of Form 1023-EZ, a shorter exemption application form for small nonprofits, the IRS took a significant step towards reducing this backlog.

Executive Summary Health care providers can significantly manage the risk posed by retained overpayments under the False Claims Act (“FCA”) by requesting counsel to conduct appropriate compliance investigations rather than performing the investigations internally.

On Monday, June 30, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., et al., that extends certain religious freedom protections to closely held for-profit corporations.  Specifically, the Supreme Court ruled that the Federal Government cannot impose the contraceptive mandate on closely held for-profit corporations that have religious…Read More

With the passing of the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), False Claims Act (“FCA”) observers noted the imminent filing of cases alleging violations of the ACA’s amendments to the FCA or “reverse” false claims. Such claims are per se false claims under the FCA and arise when a government contractor or health care provider becomes aware of…Read More