Articles and Blogs

On February 24, 2011, the Internal Revenue Service released a revised Schedule H (with corresponding instructions) to the Form 990, Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax, which expands the reporting requirements for tax-exempt hospitals.  More specifically, the new Schedule H includes questions designed to monitor and enforce compliance with Internal Revenue Code Section 501(r), as added…Read More

On February 23, 2011, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) released Announcement 2011-20 (“Announcement”) indicating the IRS will grant certain tax-exempt hospitals an automatic extension to file their 2010 Form 990 and supplemental schedules, including Schedule H.   More specifically, the IRS will grant an automatic three-month filing extension to tax-exempt organizations that operate one or more…Read More

HIPAA covered entities are required to submit reports of smaller breaches that occurred during calendar year 2010 to the Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) by March 1, 2011 pursuant to the HIPAA Breach Notification Rule.  Reports must be submitted electronically through OCR’s breach notification web page at: http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/administrative/breachnotificationrule/index.html The Breach Notification Rule requires covered entities…Read More

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (“HHS”) Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) issued a Notice of Final Determination finding that Cignet Health of Prince George’s County, MD (“Cignet”) violated the Privacy Rule of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”). HHS imposed a civil money penalty (“CMP”) of $4.3 million…Read More

Executive Summary For several years, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has taken the position that teaching hospitals are exempt from the annual H-1B cap on the basis of affiliation agreements with institutions of higher education where clinical training for students is provided onsite at the hospital.  With increasing frequency, USCIS is now taking…Read More

Executive Summary After making significant revisions to the Hospital Conditions of Participation Interpretive Guidelines for Anesthesia Services (“Interpretive Guidelines”) only thirteen months ago, CMS has once again revisited and revised the Interpretive Guidelines. An advance copy of the newly revised Interpretive Guidelines was published January 14, 2011 and was effective immediately. The Interpretive Guidelines include…Read More

Executive Summary The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) recently issued an administrative directive designed to clarify its position as to when health care providers are considered federal contractors or subcontractors subject to affirmative action obligations. The directive, which does not have the force of law, sets forth OFCCP’s own opinions and provides examples…Read More

Two developments from the NLRB in the past week are of great significance for all private employers, whether or not a union is involved. These developments both involve individual employee rights to engage in concerted activity free of employer interference. Facebook Criticism of Supervision Leads to Litigation – and Settlement The NLRB’s famous “Facebook Case”…Read More

Executive Summary  The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) has proposed a new rule requiring certain categories of Medicare providers and suppliers (“Providers”) to formally notify Medicare beneficiaries of their right to communicate health care concerns to the local Medicare quality improvement organization (“QIO”) and/or to the state survey agency (“Proposed Rule”).  The Proposed…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.  On January 31, 2011, Senior U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson issued his much-anticipated order in favor of the…Read More