IT IS TRUE that established energy corridors attract additional utilities. Power line corridors may represent an attractive route for natural gas transmission lines, just as established natural gas lines often seem to attract additional natural gas pipelines thereafter. Landowners along these corridors may feel beleaguered as additional utilities are installed across their properties ...
On March 30, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a major new initiative to target quality of care and fraud and abuse in elder care by forming 10 Elder Justice Task Forces throughout the United States. The DOJ intends to build these task forces on interdisciplinary teams – including Health Care Fraud Enforcement Action or HEAT Teams – already at work in several districts across the country. The teams include representatives from the U.S ...
As the delivery of health care continues to evolve and hospitals bear additional pressures to adapt to new payment models, more nonprofit hospitals are partnering with for-profit providers, through a sale, joint venture, or other arrangements. Partnerships between independent nonprofit hospitals and larger health care systems (nonprofit and for-profit) have been growing over the past two decades ...
A number of events have occurred recently involving the Federal Trade Commission and healthcare entities. First, garnering the lead spotlight, the FTC began presenting its case in the U.S. District Court for Northern Illinois to enjoin a merger between Advocate Health and NorthShore University HealthSystem, two large Chicago-area health systems ...
Last month, CMS issued a proposed rule that would drastically expand the agency’s authority to further its program integrity efforts through the provider and supplier enrollment process. This proposed rule, referred to as CMS-6058-P, (located in the Federal Register at 81 Fed. Reg. 40 ...
On April 27, 2016, Waller hosted the Middle Tennessee InfraGard Members Alliance’s Incident Response Briefing. The presenters highlighted increasing cybersecurity risks and the need for a proactive, coordinated approach to limit the impact of cybersecurity compromises. InfraGard is a partnership between the FBI and the private sector dedicated to sharing information and intelligence to prevent hostile acts against the United States ...
The U.S. International Trade Commission (“ITC”) recently issued a Final Determination concluding that certain dental implants imported by Instradent USA, Inc. and by JJGC Industria e Comercio de Materiais Dentarios S/A of Brazil (“Respondents”) infringe U.S. Patent Numbers 8,714,977 and 8,764,443 and should be blocked from entry into the United States ...
Following up on the passage of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently issued a proposed rule to replace the Medicare sustainable growth rate (SGR) methodology which was repealed by MACRA. The proposed rule would implement the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) to replace SGR and establish incentives for participation in Advanced Alternative Payment Models (Advanced APMs) ...
Last week, Waller co-hosted a roundtable discussion on interoperability with Brentwood Capital Advisors and were joined by healthcare IT companies, investors, providers and payors. Will Morrow, VP of HCA’s Health Insight Capital, and Hal Andrews, President of Healthcare for Digital Reasoning, kicked off the discussion with a case study on HCA’s work to achieve data interoperability and how HCA’s strategy led to its recent investment in Digital Reasoning ...
A large percentage of closely held businesses restrict or even prohibit the owners’ ability to transfer their equity interests. Often these restrictions require the owner to sell the equity back to the entity or the other owners at a formula value, for example, book value, that is not anticipated to be a true fair market value. These and other permanent restrictions on equity interests are called nonlapse restrictions because by their terms they never go away or “lapse ...
Yesterday, the Supreme Court decided Universal Health Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Escobar, a case that many hoped would provide much-needed clarity on the viability of the implied certification theory of liability in False Claims Act cases. While the Court held the implied certification theory as a viable basis to impose liability, the ruling did little to provide the hoped-for clarity ...
For the past several years, the healthcare industry has been targeted by union organizers hoping to add nurses, physical therapists and others to their ranks. In the first half of 2015, there were more than 150 union elections in the healthcare industry, with unions winning more than three-quarters of these elections ...
The home health industry could see its profit margins shrink further as a result of proposed updates to the Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS) released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) earlier this week. This is the fourth and final year of payment reductions mandated by the Affordable Care Act in response to perceived Medicare overpayments to home health agencies. Profit margins are estimated to average 17.2% for the home health industry, and $17 ...
Late last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a proposed rule intended to prohibit hospitals operating certain off-campus provider-based departments (PBDs) from billing under the Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS). In an effort to implement Section 603 of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, CMS says the proposed rule will save about $500 million a year by refocusing payments on the patient rather than the clinical setting ...
On July 7, 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a proposed rule intended to prohibit hospitals operating certain off-campus provider-based departments (PBDs) from billing under the Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS). In an effort to implement Section 603 of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, CMS says the proposed rule will save about $500 million a year by refocusing payments on the patient rather than the clinical setting ...
Generally when a successful business is acquired, whether by an asset acquisition or an equity acquisition, the assets will includeboth tangible and intangible property. When an entity conducting a business is liquidated, the tangible and intangible assets of the entity are distributed to the owners. Often, one very valuable intangible that does not appear on the balance sheet is goodwill ...
With healthcare costs expected to soon exceed twenty percent of the United States economy, the healthcare industry represents fertile ground for innovation. From medical devices and pharmaceuticals to methods for managing patient data, new technologies continue to improve patient care and outcomes. Such innovation is vital for ensuring that the healthcare industry continues to meet the demands of aging populations in the 21st century.http://executivenashville ...
In a precedential decision (June 7, 2016), the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (Board) held that when a petitioner files a petition to cancel an existing registration when the registration is less than five years old, the five-year bar in the Lanham Act Section 14 (15 U.S.C. Section 1064) is tolled for the purpose of adding an additional claim against that registration.Ashland Licensing & Intellectual Property LLC v. Sunpoint International Group USA Corp ...
The Series Limited Liability Company (“Series LLC”), a variation of the traditional limited liability company (LLC), is the newest entity enterprise on the business scene today.1 Within this legal entity, separate “series” or “cells” can be created and established under the umbrella of a single LLC ...
Institutions of Higher Education serve a key role in fostering new ideas and spurring innovation. Recognizing the value of such innovation, the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 permits universities to own patents directed to the technologies they develop. While some large research institutions pursue patents to protect their inventions, many colleges and universities forego patent protection based on the perception that patent applications are cost-prohibitive. http://www.ticua ...
On May 5, 2016, the White House issued a report citing a variety of issues with the use of non-compete agreements advocating for non-compete reform at the state and federal level.1 According to the White House report, with respect to healthcare services (i.e., physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers and other medical professionals), noncompetes have the potential to interfere with the quality of care by restricting consumer choice ...
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is ratcheting up surveillance of non-profit hospitals regarding their levels of community benefits and patient financial assistance. The IRS reviewed 692 hospitals in fiscal 2016, which ended late last month, Bloomberg BNA has reported. Of those, 166 were referred for a closer “field examination ...
The February 2016 resolution of the five-year-old trademark dispute between Macy’s Inc. and Strategic Marks, LLC in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (Macy’s Inc. et al. v. Strategic Marks, LLC, Case No. 15-0612, N.D. Cal. 2016) is a reminder that zombie trademarks still walk among us ...
