The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced two significant False Claims Act (FCA) settlements in recent days that signal continued close government scrutiny of billing, coding and referral practices at hospitals....more
8/9/2018
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Coding ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Billing ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
Kickbacks ,
Medicare ,
Patient Referrals ,
Stark Law
On July 9, 2018, Cass Regional Medical Center (CRMC) in Harrisonville, Missouri was hit with a ransomware attack that led to a complete shutdown of its electronic health record (EHR) and the diversion of trauma and stroke...more
On May 16, 2018, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia announced that it had entered into the “largest hospital drug diversion civil penalty settlement in U.S. History” in the amount of $4.1 million...more
Hospitals and hospital systems in Connecticut must file annual reports by January 15, 2018 describing (1) the activities of their group practices (e.g., medical foundations or faculty practice plans), and (2) their respective...more
Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy recently signed into law Public Act 17-241 (PA 17-241), which contains provisions concerning facility fees, the sending and receiving of electronic health records between hospitals and...more
Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy recently signed into law Public Act 17-241 (PA 17-241), which contains provisions concerning facility fees, the sending and receiving of electronic health records between hospitals and...more
On September 27, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit handed the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) a significant antitrust victory by granting its request for a preliminary injunction to stay the pending merger...more
On June 14, 2016, a federal district court in the Northern District of Illinois denied a request from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for a preliminary injunction to enjoin the pending merger of Advocate Health Care...more
7/19/2016
/ Antitrust Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospital Mergers ,
Hospitals ,
Mergers ,
Penalties ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Stark Law
This legislation (P.A. 16-77) makes substantive and technical changes related to Public Act 15-146, a major public health and health care bill passed by the Connecticut Legislature during its 2015 Legislative Session....more
On May 9, 2016, a federal district court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania rejected a request from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for a preliminary injunction to enjoin the pending merger (Merger) between Penn...more
6/6/2016
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospital Mergers ,
Hospitals ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Merger Agreements ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 7 ,
Spokeo v Robins ,
The Clayton Act
On February 25, 2016, Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy issued Executive Order No. 51 (Executive Order), which establishes a taskforce (Taskforce) to study and provide recommendations on the state’s certificate of need...more
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) recently issued a favorable advisory opinion (Advisory Opinion) to an integrated health care system (System) regarding a proposed arrangement whereby the System would provide a free...more
On June 29 and 30, 2015, the Connecticut General Assembly conducted a special legislative session following the close of the 2015 regular session. Among other things, the General Assembly passed a bill to implement the state...more
8/13/2015
/ Audits ,
Certificate of Need ,
DSS ,
FQHC ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
HIV ,
Home Healthcare Workers ,
Hospitals ,
Medicaid ,
Medicaid Reimbursements ,
Medical Reimbursement ,
Municipalities ,
Nurses ,
Nursing Homes ,
Pay-for-Performance ,
Personal Property ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Property Tax ,
Public Health ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Screening Procedures ,
Tax Rates
Effective October 1, 2015, this legislation contains several provisions to encourage the free exchange of patient health information among providers and consumers. Hospitals, health systems, and electronic health record (EHR)...more
President Obama recently signed into law Public Law No. 114-10, the “Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015” (P.L. 114-10), which overhauls Medicare physician reimbursements by eliminating the use of the...more
On May 26, 2015, Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy signed into law Public Act 15-11 (PA 15-11), “An Act Concerning Persons Who Decontaminate Reusable Medical Instruments or Devices.” This new legislation requires central...more
Reports of security breaches involving health care information have become increasingly prevalent in recent years, and such breaches seem to be continually growing in scope and magnitude. In the April 14, 2015, issue of JAMA,...more
On March 10, 2015, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Revenue Procedure 2015-21 (Revenue Procedure), which will be officially published on March 30, 2015, in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2015-13. The Revenue Procedure...more
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and a Massachusetts Superior Court each recently released decisions dealing with alleged violations of antitrust prohibitions that implicate a number of important issues surrounding health...more
On December 31, 2014, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of the Treasury (Treasury Department) published final regulations (Final Regulations) that provide guidance to hospitals regarding compliance with...more
Earlier this year, Connecticut enacted P.A. 14 - 168, which requires hospitals, hospital systems, and physician group practices composed of 30 or more physicians to report to the attorney general and the Department of Public...more