Legal and practical healthcare information.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently released an unpublished memorandum decision in the landmark mental parity case of Wit v. United Behavioral Health. In this decision, the Ninth Circuit reversed the district court’s order requiring UBH to reprocess more than 60,000 claims that had initially been denied for not meeting …
Continue reading “Updates to Wit v. United Behavioral Health”
Many practitioners in Nevada had been operating under the assumption that the Nevada Supreme Court’s 2016 opinion in Golden Road Motor Inn, Inc. v. Islam, 132 Nev. 476, 376 P.3d 151 (2016) automatically rendered void and unsalvageable any non-competition agreement entered into prior to the enactment of NRS 613.195(5)[1] in June 2017 that contained a …
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 …
(1) Clayton v. Hon. Kenworthy et al. This month, the Arizona Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Clayton v. Hon. Kenworthy et al., regarding an unrecorded Rule 35, Ariz. R. Civ. P. neuropsychological examination. Background In Clayton, the mother of a six-year-old child who suffers from bilateral hearing loss and cerebral palsy, among other disabilities, sued her …
Continue reading “SEPTEMBER 2020 ARIZONA BEHAVIORAL HEALTH LEGAL UPDATES”
It is now impossible to avoid the reality that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19, the “coronavirus”), is a “public health emergency of international concern,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”).[i] As of publication, the coronavirus is not spreading in the community in the United States.[ii] The CDC reports that the immediate …
Continue reading “CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) PRECAUTIONS FOR EMPLOYERS”
Telemedicine is a relatively new concept that allows healthcare providers to treat patients via the Internet through varying technology platforms, such as FaceTime or Skype. While the practice initially started as a means for healthcare providers to treat patients in rural or remote areas who were far away from local health facilities or in areas …
Continue reading “Ohio Expands Telemedicine to Include Teledentistry”
Healthcare providers balance their time and resources between providing the best possible care to patients and keeping up with their ever-changing regulatory landscape. Providers are often at the mercy of the federal and state agencies that administer healthcare programs, which have significant discretion in interpreting statutes, promulgating rules and guidance that implement those statutes, and …
Continue reading “Want to Challenge a Government Agency Decision? Three Key Takeaways to Consider”
Given the ever-expanding landscape of privacy laws and regulations, employers are becoming increasingly aware that they are responsible for data breaches caused by their employees. When looking to formally put obligations upon employees to modify employee conduct, employers tend to start with policy, such as in an employee handbook to allow a means of internal …
Continue reading “How Employers Can Handle Their Biggest Threat to Data Privacy, Their Employees”
Michigan, like the rest of the country, suffers from an opioid epidemic. Every day, more than 100 Americans die from an opioid overdose1. Some economists estimate that the opioid crisis has cost the U.S. economy more than $1 trillion since 2001 and is on pace to cost an additional $500 billion through 20202. The profligate …
Continue reading “Opioid Litigation Comes To Michigan – What Physicians And Hospitals Need To Know”
-Earlier this month, on May 7, 2018, the Senate passed bipartisan S.B. 1732, entitled the “Improving Access to Behavioral Health Information Technology Act.” The bill, which is currently in the House of Representatives, aims to provide “incentive payments to behavioral health providers for the adoption and use of certified electronic health record technology…to improve the …
Continue reading “May Highlights: National Healthcare Law News”