Articles and Blogs

On Friday, March 8, 2013, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) released Form 14429, Tax Exempt Bonds Voluntary Closing Agreement Program Request. The new form is required for a Tax Exempt Bonds Voluntary Closing Agreement Program (“VCAP”) submission request. VCAP provides remedies for issuers of tax-advantaged bonds (e.g., 501(c)(3) tax-exempt bonds) who voluntarily come forward to…Read More

A new Form I-9 was issued by USCIS yesterday, March 8, 2013.  The newly revised Form I-9 includes additional data fields, improved instructions and a new layout that expands the form to two pages.  Employers should begin using the new Form I-9 now.  However, there will be a 60-day grace period until May 7, 2013, during…Read More

House Passes Bill to Fund Government Past March 27 On March 6, the House passed a six-month spending bill to keep the government operating past March 27.  The 267-151 vote sends the measure to the Senate where a bipartisan coalition hopes to expand on the package next week and give Cabinet departments flexibility to cope…Read More

Executive Summary The Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) released a report on March 6 that showed a significant number of Long-Term Care Hospitals (“LTCHs”) that are co-located with skilled nursing facilities (“SNFs”) or acute care hospitals are failing to notify their Medicare Administrative Contractor (“MAC”) or fiscal intermediary (“FI”) of their co-located status. The notification…Read More

USCIS announced that tomorrow, March 8, 2013, they will release a new Form I-9.  Employers must complete Form I-9 for employees hired after November 6, 1986 to verify the identity and employment eligibility of employees.  USCIS stated that the newly revised Form I-9 will include additional data fields, improved instructions and a new layout that…Read More

Bureau of National Affairs is reporting that CMS and the OIG have submitted proposed regulations to extend the exception from the physician self-referral law and the safe harbor under the anti-kickback statute for EHR donations.  The report indicates that proposed regulations have been sumitted to the White House Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) for review. …Read More

Last month, HHS issued final rules on “essential health benefits” required under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”).  Those rules are important for the future of state and federal health insurance exchanges because they finalize the rules with which insurance companies must comply in providing benefits to their insureds.  However, these essential health…Read More

McKnight’s published an article this morning on the rise in Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) in long-term care facilities.  The Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) states these bacteria kill about half of all people who become infected, and are resistant to antibiotic treatments.  These CRE bacteria are even resistant to the antibiotics “of last resort” and can transfer their…Read More

On February 26, 2013, Chris Christie, the Governor of New Jersey, announced his support of the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid Expansion.  Christie is the eighth Republican governor to announce support of the expansion for his/her state.  The Medicaid Expansion will be fully funded by the federal government for the initial three years of the program. …Read More

On January 25, 2013, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) formally published its Omnibus Final Rule (“Final Rule”), which includes modifications to the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (“HITECH”) and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (“GINA”).  Because the Final Rule covers a…Read More