Articles and Blogs

CMS Rejects Partial Medicaid Expansion and Drops Support for a Medicaid “Blended Rate” On Monday, CMS announced that states who expand their Medicaid programs to less than 133% of the federal poverty level will not receive the higher federal matching funds set forth in the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”).  The agency said that states may…Read More

The American Medical Association (“AMA”) recently posted a policy titled “Professionalism in the Use of Social Media” (“Policy”). The Policy is intended for use by physicians, noting that the Internet has the ability to allow medical students and physicians to communicate and share information quickly and distribute such information to millions of people easily. The…Read More

Working from home and keeping time It’s becoming more and more common for employees to work from home.  Of course when they work they are to be paid for that work.  But what if the employee works but doesn’t follow the employer’s policy in keeping track of that time.  Are they still entitled to be paid…Read More

Introduction On November 29, 2012, Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and several other congressmen introduced HR 6611, the Patient Access to Drugs in Shortage Act (“Drug Shortage Act” or the “Act”), a new bill aimed at curbing drug shortages of generic sterile injectable drugs (“Sterile Injectables”).  If enacted, the Drug Shortage Act could have a significant…Read More

Introduction On November 8, 2012, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) published the Home Health Prospective Payment System Final Rule for Calendar Year (“CY”) 2013 (“Final Rule”) in the Federal Register.  This alert addresses some of the most notable components of the Final Rule in order to assist Home Health Agencies (“HHAs”) as…Read More

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has just issued a release detailing the establishment of the Healthcare Connect Fund (the “Fund”) to reform and modernize its universal service program for health care.  Recognizing the importance of high-speed data connectedness for quality patient care and burgeoning  health care practices such as telemedicine, the FCC is expanding and reforming its existing Rural Health Care…Read More

Michigan Joins Indiana in “Right-to-Work” In less than twelve months, two Midwestern states long known for their unionized workforces have passed legislation that prevents agreements requiring union membership and the payment of union dues as a condition of employment.  First, on February 1, 2012, Governor Mitch Daniels signed Indiana’s “Right-to-Work” bill into law to become…Read More

Historically, plaintiffs and defendants in personal injury actions have agreed that the value of the plaintiff’s claim is largely driven by the value of the medical expenses incurred by the plaintiff as a result of the defendant’s alleged negligence, with higher costs resulting in higher values for the plaintiff’s claim and vice versa.  As a…Read More

MedPAC Considers 1% Payment Increase for Hospitals On December 6, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (“MedPAC”) discussed draft recommendations calling for a 1% increase in inpatient and outpatient hospital payments in 2013.  MedPAC, an independent body that advises Congress on Medicare payment policy, is scheduled to vote on the recommendations when they reconvene on January…Read More

Background Checks and Notice Forms The Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) imposes numerous notice obligations on employers who use third-party companies to conduct background checks on their employees and job applicants.  Among other requirements, all job applicants must be informed explicitly: 1) that a background check will be conducted on them; 2) given the opportunity to…Read More