Insights
Client Advisories
- December 28, 2016
Contractors Working on Projects in the City of Akron Must Comply with New Registration and Reporting Requirements
- November 23, 2016
DOL's Overtime Rule Stopped in its Tracks
In what can only be described as a surprising last minute development, a federal judge in Texas has issued a nationwide preliminary injunction preventing the implementation of the Department of Labor's overtime rule that would raise the salary threshold applicable to the "white collar" exemptions from $23,660 to $47,476, and that would automatically increase this threshold every three years. This rule was to take effect on December 1, 2016. While coming late in the game, this decision is welcome news for employers who have been scrambling to bring themselves into compliance with the now enjoined rule. - November 18, 2016
Arbitration Provisions in Residency Agreements - Will CMS Ban LTC's from Entering into Pre-Dispute Arbitration?
- November 14, 2016
Where are we going with "Repeal and Replace"?
- November 8, 2016
OPPS Final Rule Regarding Changes to Provider-Based Billing
- September 2, 2016
ACA Interpreter Rules About to be Animated
In May, the federal government announced "final" versions of new Affordable Care Act Regulations prohibiting discrimination in connection with implementing the Act. A lot of publicity surrounded the Regulations' expansion of the concept of "sex discrimination" to include gender identity issues – and that portion of the Rules is currently being challenged in a federal court action1 filed August 23. Another series of rules that have received less publicity is included in this package; and, unless you already have in place a robust program for providing interpretive services to patients, it would be prudent to take a look at these Regulations. - July 6, 2016
OSHA Announces New Rules to Increases its Penalties
- June 16, 2016
Ohio Supreme Court Broadens Worker's Compensation Immunity for Subcontractors Participating in Self-Insured Projects
- June 10, 2016
CMS Re-Opens Applications For Participation in End-Stage Renal Disease Payment Model
Over the past years, CMS has been actively engaged in the creation of various accountable care payment models. In doing so, CMS seeks in part to promote changes in the delivery of care from a fragmented system to a coordinated system, to improve outcomes for the benefit and protection of Medicare beneficiaries, and to develop working partnerships with providers through the alignment of clinical and financial interests. - May 26, 2016
Leveraging Ohio's Mechanic 's Lien Statute
- May 17, 2016
Physicians Have a Second Option for Space Sharing
You may already be familiar with the rental of office space exception to the Stark Law. While this exception is widely relied on for timeshare arrangements that function as full-time leases, it is not always practical for a physician to enter into a full-time, exclusive arrangement for at least a year. Fortunately, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services finalized a new Stark Law exception effective January 1, 2016, that allows physicians, hospitals, and physician groups to share space, equipment, personnel, items, supplies or services in a non-exclusive timeshare arrangement, usually referred to as a license. This new exception is codified at 42 CFR 411.357(y) and must meet the following requirements: - May 16, 2016
Adventures In HIPAA (Continued)
As promised, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has continued its aggressive agenda of enforcement while providing some guidance to all covered entities, much of which will be useful to those entities subject to the upcoming desk audits. - May 13, 2016
Perilous Provisions in Construction Agreements
- May 6, 2016
Waiver of Subrogation Provisions in Construction Contracts
- May 3, 2016
Alternatives for Unsuccessful H-1B Visa Applicants, Part 1— OPT Process Gets Tougher for Employers Hiring Foreign Student Interns, Effective May 10, 2016
- May 2, 2016
Health Care Providers Medicare Enrollment Form 855I Fails to List Critical and Ambiguous Medicare Provider Reporting Requirement - A Cautionary Tale
The Affordable Care Act defines enhanced screening and enrollment requirements for medical providers wishing to enroll and maintain enrollment in the Medicare and Medicaid programs.1 The heightened integrity compliance provisions include the automatic revalidation and screening of all providers on a periodic basis.2 Providers may discover their ongoing mandatory reporting requirements at that time in the most unpleasant fashion: a revocation letter from the Medicare Contractor. Providers cannot solely rely on the reporting requirements listed in the Medicare Enrollment Application Form 855I and should become familiar with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) regulations. - April 28. 2016
Navigating Ohio's Prompt Pay Statute
- April 21, 2016
Killer Clauses in Construction Subcontracts: Allocating Risk with Subcontractor Agreements
- April 21, 2016
Opportunity to Comment to CMS on Provider-Based Billing Moratorium
Following the unexpected and very sudden moratorium on new hospital off-campus provider-based departments in Section 603 in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 -- including departments currently in development or under construction -- hospitals have been weighing their options for their off-campus departments. Particular areas of concern include the ability to expand or relocate existing departments and how the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ("CMS") will treat those departments under construction. Hospitals have been looking forward to CMS rule-making to address and clarify these issues. - April 14, 2016
Tips in Evaluating Coverage for Construction Defect Claims
- April 6, 2016
Construction & Coverage Law Seasonal Newsletter
- March 25, 2016
Covered Entities: Check your e-mail and contracts. Business Associates: You are now on the radar.
The Office of Civil Rights ("OCR") has begun Phase 2 of its HIPAA Security Audits. Phase 2 targets both Covered Entities and their Business Associates, and begins with an email. The email will come from OCR and will require you to verify your address and contact information. You can't avoid an audit by not responding to the email. And, be sure to check your spam and junk mail filters – OCR is expecting it and will not accept a blocked email as an excuse for no response. OCR will use publicly-available information to track down any non-responders. - March 22, 2016
Immigration Practice Group at Brouse McDowell
- March 18, 2016
Brouse McDowell Business Minutes - LLC Operating Agreement
- March 8, 2016
New CMS Programs in 2016 Continue to Encourage and Reward Quality Outcomes
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) is poised to launch several new initiatives in 2016 as well as end certain programs such as the meaningful use incentive program. Building on the goals of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service set in 2015, the focus remains specifically on rewarding quality outcomes, not quantity of services. - March 4, 2016
Brouse McDowell Business Minutes - Steps to create a Franchise
- February 23, 2016
Behavioral Health Considerations Applicable to Recent HIPAA Modifications
On January 6, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a Final Rule, effective February 5, modifying the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule to permit certain covered entities to disclose to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) certain demographic information of individuals subject to the federal "mental health prohibitor." - February 19, 2016
Brouse McDowell Business Minutes - Dispute Resolution
- February 9, 2016
2015 Ends with Additional Qui Tam Hospital Settlements, Including the Largest Civil Fraud Recovery by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Georgia
In December 2015, HCA Holdings Inc. (HCA), the largest operator of health care facilities in the United States, entered into an agreement with the federal government and the State of Georgia to pay $2 million to settle a false claims lawsuit filed in 2010. In that suit, the qui tam relator alleged that two physicians at HCA's Fairview Park Hospital performed unsafe, medically unnecessary cardiology procedures and misled patients by overstating the severity of their conditions in order to obtain the patients' consent. The relator alleged that as a result of this conduct, false claims for reimbursement for those procedures were submitted to and paid by Medicare and Medicaid. - February 5, 2016
Brouse McDowell Business Minutes - Contractual Terms & Conditions
- January 29, 2016
Brouse McDowell Business Minutes - The Necessary Steps to Acquire a Company
- January 15, 2016
Brouse McDowell Business Minutes - The Benefits of Dealing with a Lender when Negotiating a Loan Document