Articles and Blogs

On September 19, 2012, the Indiana Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Columbus Regional Hospital vs. Clyde Amburgey.  The Court allowed plaintiff to proceed against the Hospital for the actions of physicians on staff as apparent agents even though the physicians were not named in the lawsuit.  The court found a material issue... READ MORE

Hall Render is pleased to announce associate attorney Drew B. Howk, J.D., has joined the firm’s Indianapolis office. Howk practices in Hall Render’s Litigation practice group where he focuses on all levels of health care and commercial litigation.  His experience includes defending against fraud and abuse claims, real estate disputes and regulatory compliance matters.... READ MORE

Who Is a Supervisor? – The NLRB Gets It Wrong If a person is a “supervisor” then that person is considered management, and under the NLRA that supervisor cannot be part of a union bargaining unit.  Deciding who is a supervisor can have significant consequences for employers – especially when it comes to union... READ MORE

Congress Eyes E/M Cuts to Pay for “Doc Fix” On Tuesday, a Democrat congressional aide on the Senate Finance Committee suggested that cuts to non-emergency evaluation and management (“E/M”) services may be considered as a way to offset the cost of “doc fix” legislation Congress must pass before the end of the year.  The... READ MORE

Executive Summary On October 10, 2012, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of  Inspector General (“OIG”) posted OIG Advisory Opinion 12-14 (the “AO”).  The OIG reviewed a proposed arrangement involving a retail supermarket rewards program that included rewards for a customer’s out-of-pocket amounts spent on prescriptions covered by federally funded health care... READ MORE

As reported by the Post-Tribune, Methodist Hospitals has settled a dispute with Medical Information Technology (MEDITECH), FTI Cambio and HealthNET related to the failed implementation of an electronic health record (EHR) sytem.  If you are experiencing challenges with an EHR implementation, please see our prior post 4 Action Items When Facing an EHR Software Implementation Failure or... READ MORE

This Health Law News article is Part IX and the last in the series discussing the new governance study, “Governance in Large Nonprofit Health Systems: Current Profile and Emerging Patterns.” The full Report is available here. Part I – Executive Summary was published in Hall Render’s Health Law News on August 8, 2012, Part II... READ MORE

While hospices are required to ensure that substantially all core hospice services, including nursing services, are performed by hospice employees, hospices have been permitted to utilize contracted staff members to supplement hospice employees during periods of peak patient loads or extraordinary circumstances. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) agrees the nation-wide shortage of hospice nurses has... READ MORE

The Indianapolis office of Hall Render participated in the 2012 Indiana Sports Corp Corporate Challenge, taking first place in the Legal Industry division for the sixth year in a row and claiming a fifth consecutive victory as Division 2 champions.  Through their dedicated teamwork, Hall Render’s attorneys and staff represented the firm’s commitment to... READ MORE

President Barack Obama recently signed legislation that extended several immigration programs, including the E-Verify service and the Conrad State 30 J-1 Visa Waiver (“Conrad 30”) Program. This recent legislation does not change the E-Verify service or the Conrad 30 Program requirements—it merely extends the programs, both of which were originally set to expire on... READ MORE