Articles and Blogs

On January 30, 2012, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) announced the new, lower prices that will go into effect July 1, 2013 in the substantial expansion of the Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics and Supplier (“DMEPOS”) Competitive Bidding Program. The Competitive Bidding Program prices will replace Medicare’s existing fee schedule amounts in…Read More

Summary Tax-exempt Hospital Organizations will have to take extensive action in the days ahead to ensure compliance with Code Section 501(r). In addition to completing their first community health needs assessments (“CHNAs”) by the end of their current tax years, these Hospital Organizations now face detailed and complicated Proposed Regulations that will govern the other aspects of…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 broad…Read More

Executive Summary In Vincent v. Quality Addiction Management, Inc., No. 2:11-cv-205 (E.D. Wis. January 14, 2013), the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin narrowly construed Wisconsin’s physician-patient privilege to partially grant a motion to compel defendant Quality Addiction Management, Inc. (“QAM”) to disclose the medical records of the co-defendant (“Madison”) that…Read More

Three NLRB Members Not Valid Recess Appointments As we predicted last year, President Obama’s three recess appointments to the NLRB faced a significant constitutional legal challenge.  On January 25, 2012, the U. S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in a unanimous opinion ruled that the president’s recess appointments to the NLRB in 2012…Read More

House Passes Bill to Suspend Debt Ceiling On January 23, the House passed a bill that would suspend the debt ceiling and allow the federal government to keep borrowing money until May 17. Both the Senate and the White House have indicated they will not block the House-passed measure. Notably, the bill (H.R. 325) requires the…Read More

Executive Summary The recently passed American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (“Act”) contains a provision that extends the recovery period for the collection of certain Medicare overpayments. Specifically, Section 638 of the Act amends Section 1870 of the Social Security Act (“SSA”) to extend the recovery period for “without fault” overpayments from three years to five…Read More

A recent Court of Appeals of Indiana decision limits future defendants from using Indiana’s Medical Malpractice Act’s statute of limitations to dismiss plaintiffs’ claims. If a plaintiff sends her complaint to the Indiana Department of Insurance within the two-year statute of limitations, but fails to provide the fee until after the two-year window has passed,…Read More

A recent federal court opinioncourt opinion highlights the need for employers to evaluate employee requests for reasonable accommodation on an individualized basis – even where, at first glance, an effective accommodation may not be readily apparent.  The ADA is, after all, intended to overcome employment decisions based on stereotypes. A Deaf Applicant Seeks a Lifeguard Job…Read More

The U.S. Supreme Court has eliminated the possibility of a provider trying to claim additional Medicare cost report reimbursement under the legal theory of equitable tolling in its opinion published today: Sebelius v. Auburn Regional Medical Center (“Auburn”).  The result of this opinion places even more importance on ensuring providers adhere to the statutorily imposed…Read More