Articles and Blogs

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality updated its website to include a new tool for eligible professionals and eligible hospitals to track the meaningful use requirements.  The tool, available here, consolidates published meaningful use guidance including both the “Objectives” and the “Clinical Quality Measures.”   Users can also download and create custom reports based on selected measures.

The House of Representatives recently proposed legislation that would bundle payments for post-acute care services and create penalties for readmissions to Medicare-certified nursing homes. The proposed legislation would also reduce the annual market basket index for Skilled Nursing Services.

On August 23, 2013, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) published a memorandum that addressed issues arising from incomplete, inaccurate and missing Minimum Data Set (“MDS”) Discharge Assessments that adversely affect Skilled Nursing Facilities (“SNFs”) and Nursing Facilities (“NFs”).  Under 42 C.F.R. §§ 483.20(g) and (f)(1), SNFs and NFs are required to provide…Read More

While alcoholism has long been considered an impairment, plaintiffs have had limited success establishing that alcoholism is a protected disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). However, the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act (“ADAAA”) significantly expanded the number of protected individuals under the Act. Instead of focusing on whether an individual qualifies as “disabled,”…Read More

Hall Render is pleased to announce that two of our shareholders, Gerald L. Stovall and Gregg M. Wallander, were recently named the Best Lawyers® 2014 “Lawyers of the Year” (Copyright 2013 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, SC).  Stovall, who leads the firm’s construction law practice, was named the Best Lawyers 2014 Louisville Construction “Lawyer of the…Read More

On August 13, 2013, all nursing facilities participating in the Medicare and Medicaid programs were required to be in compliance with the automatic sprinkler systems’ regulation that was published in a final rule on August 13, 2008. The regulation provided a five-year phase-in program to allow long-term care facilities (“Facilities”) to achieve compliance by the…Read More

On August 15, 2013, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) published temporary and proposed regulations that provide guidance to tax-exempt hospital organizations regarding the reporting of failures to meet the community health needs assessment (“CHNA”) requirements for any taxable year and the corresponding payment of the $50,000 excise tax (“CHNA Excise Tax Regulations”).

When the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (“ADAAA”) was implemented and the revised regulations took effect, employers began bracing for changes. We have actively monitored the much-publicized multi-million dollar settlements relating to disability claims and predicted that employee-friendly judicial decisions would follow suit. Yet, with the backlog of pre-ADAAA cases still working their way…Read More

Because flu season can begin as early as October, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”), employers are already beginning to consider their approach to mandatory vaccinations for the 2013-2014 season. Do you know where your state stands on the issue?

On August 15, 2013, the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services (“OIG”) released a report titled “Most Critical Access Hospitals Would Not Meet the Location Requirements if Required to Re-enroll in Medicare” (“Report”).  If the recommendations in the Report are fully carried out, it could cause nearly two-thirds of…Read More