The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that was enacted into law on December 22, 2017, introduced a new excise tax on excess compensation (or excess parachute payments) that is paid to “covered employees” by tax-exempt organizations, including government entities with exempt income, beginning with taxable years beginning after December 31, […]
Health Law Alert
340B Drug Reimbursement Reduction under Medicare Part B
The 340B Program was established by Congress in 1992 and is administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The Program allows participating hospitals and other health care providers to purchase certain “covered outpatient drugs” from drug manufacturers at discounted prices. Congress’s stated rationale for the 340B Program was […]
2018 Final OPPS Rule: Update on Direct Supervision of Hospital Outpatient Therapeutic Services
For several years, there has been a moratorium on the enforcement of the direct supervision requirement for CAHs and small rural hospitals, with the latest moratorium on enforcement expiring on December 31, 2016. In the 2018 hospital outpatient final rule that was published in the Federal Register on November 13, […]
Not Everything is a Kickback OIG Advisory Opinion 17-06
On November 16, 2017, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) posted Advisory Opinion 17-06 discussing whether a Medicare Supplemental Health Insurance (Medigap) provider could (1) indirectly contract with a preferred hospital network to discount or eliminate Medicare Part A deductibles for its policyholders, and (2) provide policyholders with a $100 […]
Case Law Update: The Eighth Circuit Upholds the Nebraska Hospital Medical Liability Act
Earlier this year, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit upheld the constitutionality of the Nebraska Hospital Medical Liability Act (“Act”). Specifically, the Eighth Circuit affirmed the lower court’s reduction of the plaintiff’s damages, awarded by the jury, from $17 million dollars to the Act’s statutory limit–$1.75 […]