Hooper, Kearney and Macklin on Cutting Edge Topics in the False Claims Act
Our Health Care and Health Care Litigation Groups examine a policy move by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that will allow the department to forgo notice and comment procedures for many of its regulations....more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently issued a long-awaited Notice with Comment Period outlining a proposed Transitional Coverage for Emerging Technologies (TCET) pathway under Medicare that would be...more
In this week’s episode, Adam Cooper discusses the Supreme Court’s decision in Azar v. Allina Health Services, as well as a related memorandum issued in late 2019 by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) that...more
As forewarned, CMS's finalization of the Calendar Year (CY) 2020 Physician Fee Schedule, effective January 1, 2020, brings significant changes to its authority to deny or revoke a Medicare enrollment for physicians and other...more
A few days before Thanksgiving, the news media published an internal memo by the Office of General Counsel (OGC) at the US Department of Health and Human Services (Department) to officials at the Centers for Medicare and...more
On October 31, 2019, the Office of General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued an important memo from Kelly M. Cleary, CMS Chief Legal Officer, and Brenna E. Jenny, Deputy General...more
On October 9, 2019, President Trump issued an Executive Order aimed to curb agencies, such as CMS, from using informal guidance documents as de facto rules that have the binding effect of law. In a press conference...more
On August 22, 2019, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia held that CMS had unlawfully changed its “must-bill” policy, without going through notice-and-comment rulemaking, when it denied bad-debt...more
The Medicare Program, established in 1965, initially seemed simple: provide health care for senior citizens by paying hospitals and doctors directly for the care the seniors required. Initially, there were two parts to...more
In a major win for providers that serve a disproportionate share of indigent patients, the Supreme Court today upheld the D.C. Circuit’s earlier decision invalidating CMS’s policy to treat beneficiaries enrolled in Part C...more
On January 15, 2019, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Azar v. Allina Health Services, a prominent case involving a challenge by hospitals over when Medicare’s instructions to its contractors impact a “substantive...more
On January 15, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in a hotly-contested case involving a challenge by hospitals over when Medicare’s instructions to its contractors impact a “substantive legal standard” and thus...more
Is the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS or the government) required to engage in notice and comment rulemaking when it changes a requirement that has an important impact on hospitals' reimbursement? As we reported...more
Today, the Supreme Court of the United States granted certiorari in five cases: Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. v. Jackson, No. 17-1471: (1) Whether an original defendant to a class-action claim can remove the class action if it...more
On July 2, 2018, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published its annual proposed rule outlining both payment and policy changes for home health agencies. In a press release announcing the proposed rule, CMS...more
In Shands Jacksonville v. Burwell [PDF], No. CV 14-1477, 2015 WL 5579653, (D.D.C. Sept. 21, 2015), the United States District Court for the District of Columbia gave the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human...more