Articles and Blogs

On May 25, 2012, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (“OIG”) issued OIG Advisory Opinion 12-06 (the “AO”) finding that two proposed anesthesia services arrangements between a physician-owned anesthesia services provider and physician-owned ambulatory surgical centers (“ASC”) would violate the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute (“AKS”) if the parties had the…Read More

On June 26, 2012, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) announced that it had reached a settlement with the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (“Alaska DHSS”) arising from potential violations of the Security Rule under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”).  HHS learned of the circumstances giving…Read More

Indiana’s statewide smoke-free air law begins July 1, 2012 and every county in Indiana will be covered by a smoke-free air law. Nearly all public places in the state, including restaurants and other workplaces, will be smoke-free. Breathe Indiana Website The state has established a very helpful website that will help Indiana employers and their…Read More

This Health Care Tax News article is Part II in a series discussing the Proposed Regulations under Code Section 501(r).  The previous installment provided a general overview of the Proposed Regulations and addressed their applicability to “Hospital Organizations” and “Hospital Facilities” and can be accessed by clicking here.  The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act…Read More

This Health Care Tax News article is Part I in a series discussing the Proposed Regulations under Code Section 501(r). While the health care industry has been awaiting the Supreme Court’s ruling on the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) has been proceeding with its efforts…Read More

The Seventh Circuit, which covers Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin, recently ruled that a bank’s alleged bias against one of its managers based on the immigration status of the manager’s husband is not actionable under Title VII.  (In other words, Title VII doesn’t cover discrimination based on immigration or citizenship status.)  In affirming the lower court’s…Read More

This Thursday, June 28, 2012, the United States Supreme Court will decide the fate of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, aka “Obamacare.” In so doing, it may also make significant changes in one of the newest and most complicated amendments the False Claims Act, with results that are almost impossible to predict. In…Read More

Supreme Court Decision Due Next Week The U.S. Supreme Court issued a series of opinions on June 18 and June 21 but did not release the health care ruling.  Monday is the last official opinion day on the court calendar, though it appears the court could hand down additional rulings as late as next Thursday…Read More

Today, the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) announced that it is extending its review of the final regulations arising from the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (“HITECH”).  Based on regulatory timeframes, these regulations were expected to be released no later than today.  The regulations have been long-awaited and will cover…Read More

The 2011 Form 990, Schedule K has added a question asking whether or not written procedures have been adopted to ensure violations are timely identified and corrected through the IRS’s Voluntary Closing Agreement Program (“VCAP”) if self-remediation is not available.  See our February 2012 Summary of 2011 Schedule K changes, here.  As this question is…Read More