Hall Render’s This Week in Washington – July 19, 2019
Surprise Billing Debate Continues: Legislation Passes House E&C Committee The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved legislation (H.R. 2328) to protect patients from surprise medical bills....
View ArticleCMS Proposed Mandatory Payment Models for Radiation Oncology and ESRD
On July 10, 2019, CMS issued proposed rulemaking titled Medicare Program; Specialty Care Models to Improve Quality of Care and Reduce Expenditures. The rule proposes to implement two new mandatory...
View ArticleEvaluating Ligature Risk Prevention Requirements and Regulations: The...
Effective July 1, 2019, The Joint Commission (“TJC”) implemented new and revised requirements regarding suicide prevention for all TJC-accredited hospitals and behavioral health entities. The seven new...
View ArticleMandate to Arbitrate: Sixth Circuit Upholds Enforceability of Mandatory...
On July 8, 2019, the Sixth Circuit issued an employer friendly opinion strengthening the enforceability of routinely included mandatory arbitration provisions in employment contracts. In its opinion,...
View ArticleHealth Provider News – July 26, 2019
NATIONAL More mega-mergers in Q2 drive healthcare mergers and acquisitions activity to near-historic levels Mounting battle between Amazon’s PillPack and Surescripts over access to patient data...
View ArticleHall Render’s This Week in Washington – July 26, 2019
Senate Finance Committee Releases Drug Pricing Reform Package On July 25, the Senate Finance Committee advanced their comprehensive Medicare and Medicaid drug payment reform legislation. The bill now...
View ArticleE.D. Wisconsin: Boilerplate Defenses Insufficient; Challenges Wasteful
Litigators and litigants should always be weary of templates, unconsidered boilerplate pleadings—and unnecessary motion practice. Last week, a federal court in Wisconsin struck boilerplate affirmative...
View ArticleHealth Provider News – August 2, 2019
NATIONAL Will telehealth help keep rural LTC residents healthy after discharge? Study aims to find out What Do We Know About Prices And Hospital Quality? Independent Physicians Feel The Pressure As...
View ArticlePay Data Reporting on EEO-1 Forms Appears to Be the New Reality
In March of this year, a federal judge in Washington, D.C. reinstated the controversial EEO-1 Component 2 pay data reporting requirements. The current reporting deadline is September 30, 2019. The...
View ArticleCMS Continues 340B Payment Cuts in 2020 OPPS Proposed Rule Yet Acknowledges...
This week, CMS released the 2020 Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (“OPPS”) and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment System Proposed Rule (“Proposed Rule”). Among a host of other...
View ArticleCMS Proposes Payment Policy Changes Impacting Hospital Outpatient Department...
On July 29, 2019, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released its proposed rule for Calendar Year (“CY”) 2020 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (“Proposed Rule”)....
View ArticleFCC Proceeds with $100 Million Telehealth Initiative, Seeks Comments on...
On July 10, 2019, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) voted unanimously to move forward with its new $100 million telehealth initiative, which seeks to bring telehealth services to low-income...
View ArticleDefendants Successful in FCA Action Alleging Donuts for Referrals
Last week, a federal district court in Illinois entered judgment for Defendants in an FCA action against a self-proclaimed “one stop shop” health care referral management company, alleging...
View ArticleNeed a Lyft to See Your Doctor? Arizona Medicaid Will Now Cover Ridesharing...
Recently, Lyft announced that its ridesharing service is now considered a covered benefit under the Arizona Medicaid program. This announcement follows implementation of new Arizona Medicaid...
View ArticleSocial Club for Male Executives Does Not Violate Title VII
A federal district court in Nashville, TN has entered a summary judgment dismissal of a former Human Resources Director’s discrimination and retaliation claims. The case is significant because it...
View ArticleHealth Provider News – August 9, 2019
NATIONAL Best patient experience innovations at 17 health systems DaVita, Fresenius Broke Kickback Rules, Whistleblower Says CMS Finalizes Medicare Pay Increase for Rural Hospital Workers 4 major...
View ArticleCourt Takes Broad View of Medicare DSH Eligibility for § 1115 Waiver Program...
Recently, the D.C. District Court ruled that HHS must include certain waiver programs in its Medicare disproportionate share calculations. This is a significant ruling because many states have...
View ArticleStakeholders Asked and CMS Listened – Agency Proposes to Modify Stark Law...
In the recently issued Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule for Calendar Year 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) proposed several revisions to its Stark Law advisory opinion...
View ArticleSkilled Nursing Arbitration Agreements Are Back with Restrictions – CMS...
On July 18, 2019, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) published final regulations titled “Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Revision of Requirements for Long-Term Care Facilities:...
View ArticleHealth Provider News – August 16, 2019
NATIONAL Allscripts agrees to $145M HIPAA, kickback settlement GAO: PBMs passed on nearly all Part D rebates to plans in 2016 Reduce burnout by putting more doctors in leadership roles: Physicians...
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