Articles and Blogs

In January, HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell announced that HHS is accelerating Medicare’s transition to “alternative payment models.”  HHS’s goal is to shift 30 percent of all Medicare provider payments to alternative payment models by 2016 and for 50 percent of all Medicare payments to be in alternative payment models by 2018.  These goals, according to HHS, will... READ MORE

Lawmakers Moving Closer to Permanent SGR Repeal and Replacement On Thursday, March 19, House leaders, led by Rep. Michael Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), introduced part of a legislative package to permanently repeal and replace the Medicare physician payment formula known as the Sustainable Growth Rate (“SGR”), which is set to expire on March 31. However, the... READ MORE

A Helpful Memo? Almost every employer has an employee handbook of some sort or at least a set of rules and policies that are established to let employees know what is expected of them. In the private sector, the NLRB has been focusing for several years on rules and policies that are too broad... READ MORE

Rumors Swirl as Deadline for SGR Deal Nears With the Sustainable Growth Rate (“SGR”) “patch” set to expire on March 31, 2015, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) have been discussing a possible deal on a permanent repeal and replacement of the physician payment formula.  Earlier in the week,... READ MORE

In Indiana Patient’s Compensation Fund v. Holcomb, the Indiana Supreme Court addressed a question of first impression regarding whether Indiana’s Medical Malpractice Act’s cap on attorney fees from a Patient Compensation Fund (“Fund”) award also applies to reduce the Fund’s liability. Holcomb was an adult wrongful death medical malpractice case in which the trial... READ MORE

With the last Sustainable Growth Rate (“SGR”) “patch” set to expire on March 31, 2015, lawmakers on Capitol Hill must soon decide whether to pass another “patch” or to finally tackle the issue of permanent SGR repeal and replacement. Just last week, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and House Ways and Means Committee... READ MORE

Hall Render is proud to congratulate its attorneys who have been selected to the 2015 Indiana and Kentucky Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists. Steve Lyman, John Ryan and Jon Spadorcia have been selected to the Indiana Super Lawyers list and Gerald Stovall was selected to the Kentucky Super Lawyers list. Colleen Powers and Dana Stutzman have... READ MORE

On March 9, 2015, Wisconsin became the 25th state to enact Right to Work legislation with Governor Scott Walker signing Senate Bill No. 44 into law.Wisconsin’s Right to Work law “prohibits a person from requiring, as a condition of obtaining or continuing employment, an individual to refrain or resign from membership in a labor organization, to become... READ MORE

 Right to Work Becomes Law in Wisconsin Wisconsin, long known as a bastion for unions and the labor movement, has become the 25th Right to Work state after Governor Scott Walker signed Senate Bill No. 44 into law on March 9, 2015. Wisconsin’s new Right to Work law will prohibit employers from requiring employees to... READ MORE

Hall Render attorney Tim Kennedy received the Sagamore of the Wabash in recognition of his work on behalf of Indiana hospitals to craft the Healthy Indiana Plan 2.0 (HIP 2.0), the state’s plan for health care coverage expansion. Governor Mike Pence presented the prestigious award to the Indiana Hospital Association (IHA) team working on the... READ MORE