Health Care
Viewpoints
Filter by:
CMS Conducts Star Ratings Best Practices Webinar
June 26, 2013 | Blog | By Roy Albert
CMS hosted a webinar yesterday focusing on best practices for Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug Plan Sponsors looking to enhance their Star Ratings.
Read more
Increased Availability of Health Care Data Means More Oversight and More Litigation
June 25, 2013 | Blog | By Theresa Carnegie
The increasing availability of health care claims and payment data may portend the future of government and private health care enforcement and litigation.
Read more
Court Rejects Urologists’ Appeal to Overturn Regulatory Changes to Stark Law
June 20, 2013 | Blog | By Theresa Carnegie
The Stark Law regulations are not without controversy, as an unsuccessful appeal by a group of urologists brought against the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) illustrates.The Council for Urological Interests, a nonprofit association of physician-owned lithotripsy joint ventures, sought to overturn a 2008 CMS regulatory change to the Stark Law that made the urologists’ joint ventures illegal.
Read more
Texas Makes Changes to Medicaid Laws and Programs
June 19, 2013 | Blog | By Kimberly Gold
Texas Governor Rick Perry signed a series of bills into law last week modifying some of the state’s Medicaid statutes and programs. The laws will take effect on September 1, 2013.
Read more
ML Strategies Posts Weekly Health Care Reform Update on June 17, 2013
June 17, 2013 | Blog | By Theresa Carnegie
ML Strategies has posted its weekly Health Care Reform Update. This publication provides timely information on implementation of the Affordable Care Act, and other state and federal administrative and legislative activities related to health care reform.
Read more
First Circuit Rules First-Filed Complaint Need Not Satisfy Rule 9(b) to Bar Subsequent Qui Tam Actions
June 5, 2013 | Blog | By Karen Lovitch
To incentivize whistleblowers to bring false claims promptly to the government’s attention, the False Claims Act (FCA) includes a so-called “first-to-file rule" (31 U.S.C § 3730(b)(5)), which bars a person other than the government from “bring[ing] a related action based on the facts underlying” a pending action alleging violation of the FCA.
Read more
Agencies Seek Comments to Inform Future Health IT Regulation
June 4, 2013 | Blog | By Kimberly Gold
As health information technology (HIT) advancements proliferate, so too must governing regulations.
Read more
Is Data Mining Coming to a State Medicaid Fraud Control Unit Near You?
June 4, 2013 | Blog | By Theresa Carnegie
Starting June 17, state Medicaid Fraud Control Units (MFCUs) can use federal funding to pay for data mining, according to a final rule published by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General in the Federal Register on May 17. This final rule reverses previous regulations that prohibited MFCUs from using federal matching funds for data mining.
Read more
FDA Delivers Its First Mobile Medical App Inquiry
May 28, 2013 | Blog | By Karen Lovitch
The Food and Drug Administration has taken its first action against a mobile app maker for failure to obtain pre-marketing clearance. Late last week the FDA sent a letter to Biosense Technologies Private Limited, asking the company to either identify an FDA clearance for its uChek urine analyzer app or explain why it does not believe that FDA clearance is required.
Read more
Highlights of the Joint NIST and OCR Safeguarding Health Information Conference
May 24, 2013 | Blog | By Dianne Bourque
Earlier this week we attended the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) 6th Annual Safeguarding Health Information Conference in Washington, D.C. (the NIST-OCR Conference).
Read more
CMS Issues Final MLR Rule for Medicare Advantage and Part D Programs
May 21, 2013 | Blog | By Roy Albert
Last week, CMS published a final rule implementing the ACA's medical loss ratio (“MLR”) requirements that will apply to the Medicare Advantage (Part C) and prescription drug (Part D) programs beginning in contract year 2014.
Read more
Final Medical Marijuana Regulations Approved in Massachusetts
May 10, 2013 | Blog | By Kimberly Gold, Dianne Bourque, Daria Niewenhous
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health Public Health Council approved, by unanimous vote, final regulations for the implementation of the medical marijuana ballot initiative law that will allow qualifying patients with certain medical conditions to obtain and use marijuana for medicinal purposes.
Read more
How to Minimize FCPA Risk in Health Care Acquisitions
May 10, 2013 | Blog | By Karen Lovitch
When acquiring a health care company doing business abroad, there is no such thing as being too thorough with anti-corruption due diligence. The Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission have the health care industry on their radar screens for FCPA enforcement.
Read more
CMS Proposes to Increase Awards for Non-Qui Tam Whistleblowers
April 30, 2013 | Blog | By Karen Lovitch
CMS wants to change the way that it rewards non-qui tam whistleblowers who report alleged fraudulent or unlawful conduct related to Medicare or Medicaid.
Read more
Firearms Debate Triggers OCR Request for Comments
April 24, 2013 | Blog | By Theresa Carnegie, Dianne Bourque
Gun violence is a hot topic in the wake of the Newtown shootings and the aftermath of last week’s Boston Marathon bombings, and now health privacy has joined the debate.
Read more
OIG Issues Updated Self-Disclosure Protocol
April 17, 2013| Blog|
CMS Officially Launches National Physician Payment Transparency Program Website
April 15, 2013 | Blog | By Karen Lovitch
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) recently launched the National Physician Payment Transparency Program: OPEN PAYMENTS website, which provides Sunshine Act compliance resources.
Read more
Two Databases Become One: HRSA’s Rule on Reporting Provider Sanctions
April 11, 2013 | Blog
The Health Resources and Services Administration ("HRSA") has issued a final rule ("HRSA Rule") that will eliminate duplicative federal reporting requirements of provider sanctions and other adverse actions taken against health care practitioners, providers, and suppliers.
Read more
IRS Provides Additional Guidance for Non-Profit Hospitals
April 10, 2013| Blog|
Extension of EHR Donation Sunset Date Proposed by OIG/CMS
April 8, 2013 | Blog | By Karen Lovitch
The Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services (OIG) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have proposed to extend the sunset date on the safe harbor and exception for donation of electronic health records (EHR) items and services to December 31, 2016.
Read more
Viewpoint Editors
Karen S. Lovitch
Chair, Health Law Practice & Co-Chair, Health Care Enforcement Defense Practice
Joanne S. Hawana
Member
Rachel E. Yount
Of Counsel
Pat G. Ouellette
Associate
Stephnie A. John
Associate
Explore Other Viewpoints:
- Antitrust
- Appellate
- Arbitration, Mediation & Alternate Dispute Resolution
- Artificial Intelligence
- Awards
- Bankruptcy & Restructuring
- California Land Use
- Class Action
- Complex Commercial Litigation
- Construction
- Consumer Product Safety
- Cross-Border Asset Recovery
- Debt Financing
- Direct Investing (M&A)
- Diversity
- EB-5 Financing
- Education & Nonprofits
- Employment
- Energy & Sustainability
- Environmental Enforcement Defense
- Environmental Law
- FDA Regulatory
- Federal Circuit Appeals
- Financial Institution Litigation
- Government Law
- Growth Equity
- Health Care
- Health Care Compliance, Fraud and Abuse, & Regulatory Counseling
- Health Care Enforcement & Investigations
- Health Care Transactions
- Health Information Privacy & Security
- IP Due Diligence
- IPRs & Other Post Grant Proceedings
- Immigration
- Insolvency & Creditor Rights Litigation
- Institutional Investor Class Action Recovery
- Insurance & Financial Services
- Insurance Consulting & Risk Management
- Insurance and Reinsurance Problem-Solving & Dispute Resolution
- Intellectual Property
- Investment Funds
- Israel
- Licensing & Technology Transactions
- Life Sciences
- Litigation & Investigations
- M&A Litigation
- ML Strategies
- Medicare, Medicaid and Commercial Coverage & Reimbursement
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Patent Litigation
- Patent Prosecution & Strategic Counseling
- Pharmacy Benefits and PBM Contracting
- Portfolio Companies
- Privacy & Cybersecurity
- Private Client
- Private Equity
- Pro Bono
- Products Liability & Complex Tort
- Projects & Infrastructure
- Public Finance
- Real Estate Litigation
- Real Estate Transactions
- Real Estate, Construction & Infrastructure
- Retail & Consumer Products
- Securities & Capital Markets
- Securities Litigation
- Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPACs)
- Sports & Entertainment
- Strategic IP Monetization & Licensing
- Tax
- Technology
- Technology, Communications & Media
- Technology, Communications & Media Litigation
- Trade Secrets
- Trademark & Copyright
- Trademark Litigation
- Value-Based Care
- Venture Capital & Emerging Companies
- White Collar Defense & Government Investigations
- Women's Health and Technology