Articles and Blogs

The second wave of the HIPAA Security and Privacy Audit Program conducted by the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is underway.  Linda Sanches, the Lead for HIPAA Compliance Audits for the OCR, provided a detailed update on the Audit Program at the fifth annual Safeguarding Health Information: Building Assurance through HIPAA Security conference held…Read More

Hall Render has learned the Supreme Court will not issue an opinion on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act this week. Sources at the Court tell Hall Render the earliest the Court might rule on the landmark health care law is Monday, June 18.

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (Innovation Center) is set to announce today it is testing the Advance Payment Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Model for participants in the Medicare Shared Savings Program. The Shared Savings Program provides incentives for participating health care providers who agree to work together and become accountable for coordinating care…Read More

Senate Minority Leader Tells Hall Render Some ACA Provisions Will Remain At a small breakfast meeting in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) told Hall Render Shareholder John Williams that Senate Republicans will follow the lead of their House counterparts and prepare legislation to keep those provisions of the Affordable Care…Read More

The NLRB’s Acting General Counsel issued a Memorandum  on May 30, 2012 clarifying and outlining its position on the lawfulness of employer social media policies.  The Memorandum discusses several recent cases where the NLRB determined that certain private employer policies were overbroad and interfered with employee rights under the NLRA.  The section of most interest to…Read More

This installment of Hall Render’s Health Law Broadcast series on health care reform is designed to provide you with the insight, analysis and practical suggestions with respect to the various reform initiatives that will affect your organization.  IRS Issues Guidance on $2,500 Limit for Health Flexible Spending Accounts  The IRS recently issued Notice 2012-40 providing guidance…Read More

The IRS recently issued Notice 2012-40 providing guidance on the $2,500 maximum annual limit on employee contributions to health care flexible spending accounts (“FSAs”) as set forth in the Affordable Care Act. The full text of the Notice can be found here. The Act states that the limit is effective January 1, 2013 for any…Read More

A New Jersey Court of Appeals recently held that a resident’s daughter, who signed the admission agreement as the resident’s “responsible party” and who had access to the resident’s income and resources, liable for not using such income and resources to pay the long term care facility for the resident’s stay and care at the…Read More

Recently, the Indiana State Department of Administration, on behalf of Indiana’s Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA), signed contracts with four law firms for Indiana Medicaid estate recovery. FSSA divided the contracts into three regions: Northern Indiana, Central Indiana, and Southern Indiana. Cases will be assigned by Indiana’s Office of Medicaid Policy and Planning staff…Read More

Medicaid Provider Taxes Targeted…Again The Republican Leadership of the House and Senate put the Medicaid provider tax threshold on the table again this week, this time as a way to pay for a one-year extension of the interest rate for subsidized Stafford student loans that expires on July 1, 2012.  A similar proposal was contained…Read More