Articles and Blogs

Late last year, Rep. Edward Canfield (R-Sebewaing) and Sen. Peter MacGregor (R-Rockford) proposed legislation that would amend: (1) the Public Health Code to prohibit the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs or a professional board from requiring a physician to maintain a national or regional certification and prohibits hospitals from denying admitting privileges on... READ MORE

On August 18, 2016, Judge Sean F. Cox in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan ruled that a funeral home business did not violate the law when it terminated a transgender employee who wished to dress as a woman. This decision is significant because it is one of the first... READ MORE

As has been widely reported, on July 21, 2016, the Antitrust Division of the DOJ filed two separate complaints to block both Anthem’s acquisition of Cigna and Aetna’s acquisition of Humana, alleging both acquisitions violate the federal antitrust laws. In both cases, the parties have decided to fight the DOJ’s challenge. Originally, both cases were... READ MORE

On August 4, the Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced a $5.55 million settlement with the largest fully integrated health care system in Illinois. The settlement is the largest HIPAA settlement ever by a single entity and follows two recent settlements with university health systems in Oregon and Mississippi that were $2.7 million and... READ MORE

On August 5, 2014, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued an Inpatient Prospective Payment System (“IPPS”) Final Rule (“Final Rule”) adopting the updated labor market area delineations based on the 2010 census. The updated labor market area delineations became effective October 1, 2014. The Final Rule effectively caused, among other changes,... READ MORE

22 Hall Render attorneys were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2017. Hall Render congratulates: Elizabeth Callahan-Morris, Shareholder, Best Lawyers Since 2014 Lawrence K. Coon, Shareholder, Best Lawyers Since 2007 Arthur F. deVaux, Shareholder, Best Lawyers Since 2013 Mary C. Gaughan, Shareholder, Best Lawyers Since 2016 Scott J. Geboy,... READ MORE

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals just issued a blockbuster ruling in U.S. ex rel. Swoben v United Healthcare et al., ruling that United Healthcare, WellPoint, Aetna and other major health insurance providers must answer to a whistleblower’s complaint that they defrauded the Medicare Advantage program. The Medicare Advantage Program, also known as Medicare... READ MORE

On July 22, 2016, the Center for Clinical Standards and Quality/Survey & Certification Group released a memorandum that revised Chapter 7 of the State Operations Manual (“SOM”) and provided guidance on its policy to immediately impose federal remedies when a deficiency of a certain type is cited. The remedies are in addition to a... READ MORE

The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) recently issued a favorable Advisory Opinion, No. 16-07, of an arrangement that offers Medicare Part D beneficiaries discounts on prescriptions for an erectile dysfunction drug that is statutorily excluded from coverage under Part D (the “Arrangement”). While OIG concluded that the Arrangement... READ MORE

Join the Indiana Hospital Association and Hall Render attorneys Mike Batt, Elizabeth Callahan-Morris, Tim Kennedy, Jennifer Skeels, Kevin Stella, Mark Swearingen and Regan Tankersley for the IHA Health Care Legal Forum on September 16, 2016. The Legal Forum is designed specifically for hospital attorneys and executives, as well as those interested in legal topics... READ MORE