In a March 2023 ruling, a Texas federal district court vacated all actions taken by the Departments of Labor (“DOL”), Health and Human Services (“HHS”), and Treasury (collectively, the “Departments”) to implement or enforce certain preventive care requirements under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”). Recently, the Departments released initial FAQ guidance addressing …
Proposed Rules Could Mean The End Of Non-Compete Agreements
Originally published in Healthcare Michigan, Volume 40, No. 2 Non-compete provisions are common in healthcare employment agreements. These provisions are designed to prohibit an employed or contracted provider from competing against the contracting entity by working for or starting a competing business within a certain geographic area for a set period of time. As the Michigan …
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Physician Non-Compete Agreements: What You Should Know
What are non-compete agreements? In the broadest sense, non-compete agreements prohibit an employee from accepting employment by a competitor of an employer for a certain time. They are treated differently than non-solicitation agreements and confidentiality agreements. While non-compete agreements may not solely prevent competition – the agreement cannot prohibit an employee from using general knowledge …
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SURPRISE! NEW LAWS IMPACT PATIENT BILLING
Since last year, certain providers (e.g., anesthesiologists, radiologists, surgeons, etc.) in Michigan have had to navigate Michigan’s Surprise Medical Billing Law (“Michigan Act”). Starting January 1, 2022, those same providers have also had to comply with the Federal No Surprises Act (“Federal Act”). Generally, both statutes prevent nonparticipating providers from balance billing patients when the …
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State Funded Benefits for ASD in Arizona: The Basics
Who are the relevant state entities? The Division of Developmental Disabilities (“DDD”) operates under the Arizona Department of Economic Security (“ADES”).[1] The DDD provides services to qualifying Arizona children with developmental disabilities. The Arizona Long Term Care System (“ALTCS”) is Arizona’s Medicaid program that provides long-term care services to DDD members. ALTCS operates under the …
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Autism and Steven’s Law in Arizona
What is Autism Spectrum Disorder (“ASD”)? Autism spectrum disorder (“ASD”) is a developmental disability.[1] Children with ASD may experience social, communication, learning, and behavioral challenges. The severity of ASD varies and some children require more assistance than others. There is no cure for ASD, but early intervention treatment for children between birth and 36 months …
Loaded Questions: Are Noncompetition and Nonsolicitation Clauses Really Enforceable in Michigan?
As an employment lawyer, there are a number of questions I frequently hear from clients and colleagues. One of the most common ones is, “I thought noncompetes weren’t really enforceable. Is that true?” This question takes many forms. For example: Employer Client: “I don’t want to prevent someone from working, so I just have my …
The Regulatory Sprint to Value-Based Care
On December 2, 2020, the CMS and the OIG published the rules modifying the safe harbors under the Anti-Kickback Statute[1] and exceptions under the Stark Law[2]. This article presents an overview of the value-based rules, which became effective on January 19, 2021. CMS and OIG coordinated many aspects of the value-based rules, and this section …
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The Regulatory Sprint to Value-Based Care: The New Safe Harbors and Stark Exceptions
On November 20, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) and the Office of the Inspector General (“OIG”) finalized the rules modifying the safe harbors under the Anti-Kickback Statute and exceptions under the Stark Law. These new rules take effect as of January 19, 2021. Due to their complexity, this article will focus …
EEOC Confirms Employers Can Mandate Employees Have the COVID-19 Vaccine…With Restrictions
With the roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccine for mass consumption, we hypothesized in our piece titled “Can Employers Make Employees Get the COVID-19 Vaccine,” that employers would be able to require employees to get the vaccine subject to limited restrictions. We further noted that our guess was based on the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission’s (EEOC) …