Articles and Blogs

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... READ MORE

Hall Render recently welcomed the following attorneys: Christina M. Torossian (MI) practices Health Law; Megan L. Snow (WI) practices Health Law; Nicholas A. Gonzales (WI) practices Health Law; Spencer P. Goodson (IN) practices IT Law; and Daniel F. Miller (WI) practices Health Law. 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... 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... 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... 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... 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... 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... 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... READ MORE

If you are a tenant in a medical office building and do not appreciate the difference between “rentable” area and “usable” area you may be paying more (or less) rent for the space than what is fair and reasonable.  In May, the Building Owners and Managers Association (“BOMA”) updated its measurement methodology for office... READ MORE