Articles and Blogs

MedPAC Votes on Final Recommendations for Hospital IPPS Update On January 10, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (“MedPAC”) voted on its 2014 reimbursement recommendations for hospitals.  The panel voted on recommending Congress to increase hospital payments by 1% for 2014.  The MedPAC recommendations will now be sent to Congress. The finalized recommendation for hospitals to…Read More

In a suit brought against an Ohio nursing facility related to improper medication administration, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit allowed the use of res ipsa loquitur in finding a facility responsible for lapses in a resident’s medication regime.  

NLRB Judge Rules That Clauses That Are Too Broad Are Illegal As we have seen in the recent months, the NLRB has been very focused on the rights of employees – union and non-union – to talk about their wages, hours and working conditions whether face-to-face or on Facebook.  A decision by an NLRB administrative law judge…Read More

Tax-exempt hospitals will face significant challenges in 2013 as they will be required to come into full compliance with Code Section 501(r), as added by the Affordable Care Act.  More specifically, by year end, every hospital facility operated by a Code Section 501(c)(3) hospital organization must complete a community health needs assessment (“CHNA”) and adopt…Read More

The new tax Act approved by Congress and its three primary changes to federal estate and gift tax laws are addressed in this issue of Hall Render’s Estate Planning Insights audio series. Please join Doug Long, Shareholder at Hall, Render, Killian, Heath and Lyman, for this brief discussion by clicking here.. Should you have any questions…Read More

The National eHealth Collaborative will host two upcoming Health Information Exchange Governance Town Hall Meetings.  These Town Hall Meetings aim to provide an opportunity for stakeholders to describe and offer input on their experiences, practices, issues, priorities and suggestions regarding Health Information Exchange Governance initiatives.

The Federal Communication Commission (“FCC”) released rules governing how it will distribute $150 million annually out of the Healthcare Connect Fund to qualifying health care providers to support the provision of health care services to the rural population.  The Healthcare Connect Fund grows on the experience and lessons learned by the FCC through its Rural…Read More

Background On November 26, 2012, the Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) released guidance regarding methods and approaches to achieve de-identification of protected health information (“PHI”) in accordance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”).  Congress mandated in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 that OCR issue such guidance.

Executive Summary On December 20, 2012, a Federal District Court judge allowed a False Claims Act (“FCA”) case to continue against a Pharmacy Benefits Manager1 (“PBM”), related to PBM services it furnished to an unrelated Medicare Part D Sponsor (“Sponsor”).  In 2007, the Sponsor engaged a third party auditor to audit the Part D claims…Read More

Fiscal Cliff Deal Includes Substantial Hospital Payment Cuts The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (H.R. 8) was signed into law on January 2, 2013.  The so-called “fiscal cliff deal” extends current Medicare physician payment rates through December 31, 2013 and thus averts the 26.5% Sustainable Growth Rate (“SGR”) cut.  The deal also delays the…Read More