Articles and Blogs

On July 15, 2022, the Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) announced its resolution of eleven separate investigations against covered entities for violations of the individual’s right of access under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”). OCR’s continued efforts with respect to…Read More

Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which 1) includes $300B for energy and climate reform and $60B in incentives for renewable energy products such as solar panels and wind turbines; 2) gives the federal health care secretary the right to negotiate drug prices for Medicare and caps out of pocket expenses on certain drugs for…Read More

The United States Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced a settlement with a research university (“University”) which has agreed to pay $875,000 to settle potential violations of the HIPAA Privacy, Security and Breach Notification Rules, as well as to take corrective action after an unauthorized third party gained access…Read More

A New Jersey statute on hospital property tax exemption was recently upheld by a NJ Superior Court. After more than 5 years of litigation on the state’s hospital property tax exemption statute, the law was signed in February 2021 and provides for a per-day “community service contribution” levied on each licensed bed in certain health…Read More

Health care is always a high priority for the Department of Justice Antitrust Division (“DOJ”)  and the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”). The emphasis on antitrust compliance within the health care industry was recently reiterated by Andrew Forman, a Deputy Assistant Attorney General at the DOJ. Specifically, at the American Bar Association’s Antitrust in Healthcare Conference,…Read More

OIG recently issued an advisory opinion related to a request by an ophthalmology practice (“Practice”) to examine four proposed funding arrangements for a continuing medical education (“CME”) program offered to local optometrists on current treatment and medication protocols for patients requiring ophthalmic surgeries. The CME program would offer 2-6 hours of CME, valued at $500-$9,000….Read More

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released payment policies for the new Rural Emergency Hospital (“REH”) provider type in the calendar year (“CY”) 2023 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (“OPPS”) and ASC Payment System Proposed Rule (“OPPS Proposed Rule”) published in the federal register on July 26, 2022. The proposed payment policies include…Read More