The Wall Street Journal ran an article this past week about local governments closing or selling hospitals that they could no longer afford to keep open. Most of these hospitals provide a disproportionate share of uncompensated care. This is indicative of a trend we have seen nationwide both with government-owned hospitals and smaller, local community [...]

I recently gave an interview on some of the challenges facing community hospitals. The article appeared this week in Becker’s ASC Review and can be found here. Some of the key challenges highlighted in the article are: 1. Lower discounts on supplies. 2. Lack of economies of scale. 3. Lack of negotiating clout with managed [...]

Scott Becker and I recently co-authored a white paper titled “Strategies for Hospital Leadership – Identifying Strengths, Allocating Hospital Resources and Focusing on Profitable Niche Leadership.” The article explores several traditional business strategy models and applies them to recent challenges in the hospital industry. I. DEVELOPMENT OF A STRATEGY AND STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK. II. UNDERSTAND YOUR [...]

Three of my colleagues just published the piece below summarizing the recent ESRD PPS Final Rule. This is the second piece of rulemaking to directly affect dialysis/ESRD providers in the last month. Taken together, they make some significant changes to the way ESRD is reimbursed and provide additional details on previously announced changes. Please feel [...]

On July 13, 2010, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a proposed rule that would make several changes to the current composite rate system of reimbursement for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) facilities. Some changes were also made to the Monthly Capitation Payment for physician services to ESRD patients. The changes were contained [...]

Recently we have seen a resurgence in four key areas in the healthcare arena as it relates to hospitals and physicians and the compensation and financial relationships between them.  There are a number of factors driving each of these four trends including: (i) consistent downward pressure on reimbursement, (ii) uncertainty about the future, (iii) efforts [...]

Here is a link to some interesting remarks prepared by Assistant Attorney General Christine A. Varney for the American Bar Association/American Health Lawyers Association Antitrust in Healthcare Conference on May 24, 2010. This is a nice piece on enforcement and competition, which some mention of the development of Accountable Care Organizations (ACO’s). http://www.justice.gov/atr/public/speeches/258898.htm I usually [...]

As you may know, the 2010 State Medical Facilities Plan for North Carolina included a new Single Specialty Ambulatory Surgery Facility Demonstration Project.  The State Medical Facilities Plan essentially allows for three new single-specialty ambulatory surgery facilities in specific areas, each with two operating rooms.  The three eligible areas and their respective application deadlines and [...]

Several of our colleagues have collaborated to draft a short piece on the impact of healthcare reform on hospitals and health systems. Their contact information is at the bottom of this post. You can see a full length copy of the article here. Also, a brief summary of the article is below: On March 23, [...]

Here are a few interesting comments on the future of home health care from Forbes: The recent health reform changes will mean $40 billion in cuts toward home health care, according to a report issued by Oppenheimer & Co. on Monday morning. These cuts will spur consolidation in the fragmented industry that collectively took in [...]

A recent Business Week article prominently featured Providence Regional Medical Center in Everrett, Washington, praising the hospital for its ability to cut costs while improving quality. The article did a very job of providing context for the cost challenges facing hospitals along with an overview of some of Providence’s initiatives that produced excellent results. Following [...]

A group of our colleagues at McGuireWoods have authored a short summary of the proposed final regulations related to notification of breaches of unsecured PHI under the recent HIPAA changes made by the HITECH Act. Please feel free to contact the authors directly for additional information: Kimberly J. Kannensohn 312.750.8649 kkannensohn@mcguirewoods.com Nathan A. Kottkamp 804.775.1092 [...]

Several of our colleagues at McGuireWoods have published an updated FAQ on advance directives in ambulatory surgery centers. The update was authored by Nathan Kottkamp, Kara Friedman and Scott Becker. The authors can be reached at the following contact information: Nathan A. Kottkamp 804.775.1092 nkottkamp@mcguirewoods.com Kara M. Friedman 312.750.2781 kfriedman@mcguirewoods.com Scott Becker 312.750.6016 sbecker@mcguirewoods.com Click below [...]

I recently gave an interview to Becker’s ASC Review about a few current trends in lending that are affecting many healthcare borrowers. The article focuses on ASCs but many of the principles are common to other types of healthcare borrowers. You can find a copy of the article here. document.getElementById(“post-721-blankimage”).onload();

Scott Becker, Bart Walker and Lainey Gilmer have recently authored a white paper titled “ASC Transactions: An Overview and Primer of Key Issues.” This White Paper provides an overview of some of the key business and legal issues associated with ambulatory surgery center buy and sell transactions.  A copy of the White Paper is available [...]

RAC Appeals By Elissa Moore and Jessica Smith The RAC program, authorized by Congress in the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 and made permanent in the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, is intended to detect and correct improper payments in the Medicare program.  More than 1 billion Medicare claims are submitted every [...]

Physician/ASC Self-Referral Law Signed by New Jersey Governor By: Bart Walker and Amber Walsh  On March 21, Governor Jon Corzine of New Jersey signed into law a bill that amends the State’s existing physician self-referral statute in order to provide greater clarity in the area of ambulatory surgery center referrals and to make several other [...]

Three of our colleagues at McGuireWoods have collaborated to author a white paper titled “11 Key Concepts from the Stark Law.” This paper was written by Scott Becker, Ji Hye Kim and Jessica Smith. A copy of the white paper can be found here: http://www.mcguirewoods.com/news-resources/publications/health_care/11%20Key%20%20Concepts.pdf  Author Contact Information: Scott Becker, Partner 312.750.6016 | sbecker@mcguirewoods.com Ji [...]

Two of our colleagues at McGuireWoods, Kim Kannensohn and Ryan Higgins, have authored a short piece on the key changes to HIPAA included in the recent American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (“ARRA”). You can view a copy of their article after the break below or by following this link. You can reach Kim [...]

This legal update was written by two of our colleagues at McGuireWoods. Please contact them directly with any questions you may have: Elizabeth A. Diller 804.775.4358 ediller@mcguirewoods.com Nathan A. Kottkamp 804.775.1092 nkottkamp@mcguirewoods.com document.getElementById(“post-303-blankimage”).onload();