Articles and Blogs

Congress Unlikely to Make Progress on Health Care Bills Before Year-End  As government funding battles overtake Capitol Hill, it appears Congress will not use the lame duck to resolve outstanding health care issues. While the desire to steer clear of health care fights is something different from prior years, outgoing House Ways and Means... READ MORE

On November 21, 2018, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) released a report (“Report”) outlining what it believes are multiple deficiencies in the Medicare wage index system. OIG recommended several changes, including revisiting the possibility of comprehensive reform and seeking authority to penalize hospitals that submit inaccurate wage... READ MORE

This is another article in a series discussing the complete overhaul of Part 483 to Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations the Requirements for States and Long-Term Care Facilities (“Final Regulations”) by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”). To view other articles in this series, click here. Beginning on November 28,... READ MORE

The Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”), announced that a small professional association with three doctors and four locations (the “Practice”) has agreed to pay $125,000 and adopt a corrective action plan to settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”). The... READ MORE

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) recently issued a proposed rule (“Proposed Rule”) that would require pharmaceutical manufacturers to disclose the list price for a typical course of treatment of prescription drugs and biologics covered by Medicare or Medicaid in direct-to-consumer television advertisements. This policy development comes just two months after the... READ MORE

Hall Render is pleased to announce attorney Lauren Rodriguez has joined the firm’s Indianapolis office. Lauren Rodriguez focuses her practice on litigation and is an experienced litigator in both state and federal court. Lauren earned her B.S. from Indiana University in 2013 and received her J.D., with a certificate in health law, from the... READ MORE

Hall Render is pleased to announce attorney Kelci Laster has joined the firm’s Indianapolis office. Kelci Laster practices in the area of health law with a focus on regulatory, compliance, corporate transactional and physician alignment and integration matters. She provides services to a broad array of health care providers, including hospitals, health systems and... READ MORE

Hall Render is pleased to announce attorney Kerry Dutra has joined the firm’s Raleigh office. Kerry Dutra focuses on regulatory and compliance matters for hospitals, health systems, clinical laboratories and other providers. Kerry earned her B.S.P.H., with distinction, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2015 and received her J.D., with... READ MORE

NATIONAL Amazon adds to its list of HIPAA-eligible machine learning tools Leapfrog releases Fall 2018 safety grades showing medical errors, safety issues prevail in red and blue states Hospital CEOs Agree That Systemness Focus Drives Results Doctors as disruptors? AMA CEO says medicine’s future demands it 93% of MIPS-eligible clinicians to get positive payment... READ MORE

Democrats Set to Control Key Health Committees in Next Session of Congress The Democratic takeover of the House of Representatives following the recent midterm elections will significantly change the political landscape for health care issues when lawmakers return for the 116th Session of Congress next year. Overall, the election results will mean divided government... READ MORE