Articles and Blogs

Effective December 2, 2011, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued and implemented new and revised guidance in Appendix W of the Medicare State Operations Manual (“Interpretive Guidelines”) related to the Medicare Conditions of Participation for Critical Access Hospitals (“CAHs”).  Importantly, CMS issued new Interpretive Guidelines to 42 C.F.R. § 485.635(f) concerning CAH…Read More

Today, the National Labor Relations Board agreed to postpone the effective date of its Employee Rights notice-posting rule at the request of the federal court in Washington, D.C. hearing a legal challenge regarding the rule. The Board’s ruling states that it has determined that postponing the effective date of the rule would facilitate the resolution…Read More

On December 21, 2011, the National Labor Relations Board adopted a final rule amending its election case procedures to reduce unnecessary litigation and delays. The rule will be published in the Federal Register on Thursday, December 22, 2011 and is due to take effect on April 30, 2012. The Rule Will Speed Up Union Elections This new…Read More

Both the House and the Senate have now approved language in the National Defense Authorization Act, which, if it becomes law, appears to exempt TRICARE network providers from having to comply with burdensome affirmative action obligations.  (This article is a follow-up to the December 9, 2011 Employment Law News, available here.) House and Senate Versions Reconciled…Read More

Executive Summary Under the Federal Stark Law, for calendar year 2012, hospitals may provide non-monetary compensation to physicians up to an aggregate amount of $373.  The dollar limit for “medical staff incidental benefits” (e.g., meals, parking, other items or incidental services that are used on the hospital’s campus) increases slightly for 2012 to less than $31…Read More

Wisconsin Act 70 makes major changes to Wisconsin Statutes that regulate nursing homes and facilities that serve individuals with developmental disabilities. Signed into law on November 16, 2011 and effective December 2, 2011, the Act benefits federally certified nursing homes in the form of reduced fines and all nursing homes and facilities serving the developmentally disabled…Read More

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) has recently instructed contractors to reopen certain claims that were previously denied for failure to meet the “face-to-face” requirements in certain circumstances and assuming all content requirements of the certification and the face-to-face documentation are otherwise met.  It came to CMS’ attention that certain claims were being…Read More

Earlier this month, the Senate passed the National Defense Authorization bill (S. 1867), which contains a provision that exempts certain TRICARE network providers from jurisdiction by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP).  If it becomes law, this provision will undo the OFCCP’s recent efforts to require health care providers that participate in TRICARE…Read More

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced cost-of-living adjustments to the applicable dollar limits for various employer-sponsored retirement and welfare benefit plans for 2012.  For the first time since 2009, the IRS has increased many employee benefit plan limits.  As a result, employers should update payroll and plan administration systems accordingly and review plan-related documents…Read More

On December 2, 2011, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued a Program Memorandum (“Memorandum”) clarifying equipment maintenance requirements for hospitals.  More specifically, the Memorandum addresses:  (1) alternate equipment maintenance schedules that are permitted in some instances; and (2) alternative equipment maintenance methods that are not permitted. The Medicare condition of participation for…Read More