Articles and Blogs

On February 8, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office for Civil Rights and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (“SAMHSA”) issued a Final Rule that modified the “Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder Patient Records” regulated by 42 CFR Part 2 (“Part 2”). The Final Rule was published in…Read More

On January 30, 2024, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued a Request For Information (“RFI”) seeking input from interested parties regarding Medicare Advantage (“MA”) data. CMS’s goals for the RFI are to enhance data capabilities “to have better insight into [MA] programs, consider areas to increase MA data transparency, and propose future…Read More

Georgia legislators have passed a bill to relax Certificate of Need rules for certain hospital projects in rural areas of the state. The bill still requires additional approvals before it becomes law. Florida legislators proposed a series of bills to limit the liability of passive investors in assisted living facilities (“ALFs”) located in Florida. According…Read More

On March 1, 2024, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama ruled that the Corporate Transparency Act (the “CTA”) is unconstitutional because it exceeds Congress’s enumerated powers under the United States Constitution. The CTA, enacted on January 1, 2024, mandates the creation of the Beneficial Ownership Secure System database and requires…Read More

On February 16, 2024, the Supreme Court of Alabama (“the Court”) published a decision in LePage v. Center for Reproductive Medicine (“LePage“), holding that frozen embryos are considered children under Alabama’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act (the “Act”), which provides parents with a private right of action against any person whose wrongful act, omission…Read More

Health care REITs Healthpeak Properties, Inc. and Physicians Realty Trust closed a $21B merger. The combined company oversees a 52 million-sf portfolio, including 40 million sf of outpatient medical office properties concentrated in high-growth markets such as Dallas, Houston, Nashville, Phoenix and Denver. The remaining square footage is lab space. A recent NEJM Catalyst survey…Read More

Earlier this month, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) withdrew its complaint challenging the IQVIA and Propel Media merger after the parties announced their intent to abandon the deal. The decision comes after the FTC successfully secured a preliminary injunction in the District Court for the Southern District of New York (“the Court”) in January. The…Read More

On February 22, 2024, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that it recovered over $2.68 billion in False Claims Act (“FCA”) settlements and judgments during the 2023 federal fiscal year. Notably, this amount stems from the highest number of settlements and judgments in a single year, including 543 settlements and judgments during this last fiscal…Read More