Health Law Scan

In a superheated month of steamy weather and ovenlike temperatures, Health Law Scan turned up the cool with a bracing array of au courant blog posts in August. Beginning with an overview of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service’s (CMS’s) proposed price transparency program, we analyzed more than a dozen key proposals in the outpatient prospective payment and ambulatory surgical center payment systems 2020 rule and previewed a Fast Break webinar on updates to the physician fee schedule rule.

A final rule released by the US Department of Homeland Security will make it more difficult for foreign nationals who use public benefits to adjust or extend their immigration status in the United States based on their likelihood of becoming a “public charge” in the future.

In this LawFlash, our US labor/management relations team tracks new developments at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) as 2019 progresses.

Please join us for our August 22 webinar, Fast Break: Physician Fee Schedule Update.

Proposed reforms to patent subject matter eligibility in the United States are once again making headlines. With advancements in medical device technologies and the increasing integration of software, patent eligibility considerations implicate a growing realm of medical devices.

We address more than a dozen key proposals from the CMS outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS) and ambulatory surgical center payment systems proposed rule in a recent LawFlash. Chief among them is the agency’s bold new proposal for a broad price transparency program.

We hosted a very informative Fast Break session last week on complex FCA issues. If you weren't able to join, the session was led by Katie McDermott and Matt Hogan, who are both authorities in False Claims Act (FCA) litigation.

Coming on the heels of the FCC’s recently proposed $100 million Connected Care Program to fund telehealth-based connections between healthcare providers and patients, and continuing its recognition of the critical role telehealth plays in the healthcare industry, the FCC recently voted to adopt an extensive order overhauling the Rural Health Care (RHC) Program.

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11’s manned mission to the moon, Health Law Scan binged on a month of TV interviews and videos from when humans first walked on the lunar surface. As Health Law Scan dreamed of galaxies far away, the gravitational pull of earthly demands diverted our attention back to recent healthcare developments.

Two OIG inspection reports detailing the results of onsite hospice surveys during a five-year period ending three years ago in 2016 build on the body of hospice industry evaluations conducted by the OIG, garnering significant negative press attention.