February 2009

Pittsburgh, PA —  The law firm of Tucker Arensberg, P.C. announced that Neil E. Hendershot has joined the Harrisburg office of the firm as a Shareholder.  Neil practices in the areas of elder law, personal and estate planning, family business succession, estate and trust administration, Orphans’ Court (PA probate court) litigation, real estate, and charitable organizations.  Neil authors the "PA Elder, Estate & Fiduciary Law Blog", and also the "PA HealthCare DecisionMaking" website.

Neil participates actively in state and local bar association activities.  Neil previously served as Chairman of the Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section, of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and has served as an Editor of that Section’s bi-annual Newsletter continuously since 1983. He is currently (2007-09) that Section’s elected delegate to the PBA House of Delegates, and is serving a three-year term on the RPPT Section’s governing Council.Continue Reading Tucker Arensberg Announces New Shareholder

We are sending this Employee Benefits Law Alert to update an alert we distributed on February 18, 2009. Government representatives have explained that although the Act states that insurance companies providing insurance for group health plans will be entitled to reimbursement of the COBRA subsidy, the employer (and not the insurance company) generally will be entitled …

CMS recently published a resource reference listing the internet resources available for fraud and abuse research and reference. Below is a link to the Medicare Learning Network publication and direct links to the fraud and abuse web resources cited therein.

 

Medicare Learning Network

http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNProducts/downloads/Fraud_and_Abuse.pdf

 

OIG Listserv

http://www.oig.hhs.gov/mailinglist.asp

 

CMS Website

http://www.cms.hhs.gov/

 

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, commonly referred to as the "Stimulus Bill", contains multiple provisions which affect the rights and obligations of certain parties under  the privacy and security provisions of HIPAA. These changes relate to the application of the security and privacy provisions to business associates; the notification requirements in the event…

This article has been revised to reflect recent guidance. It is important that you read the revised article at the following link: 
www.medlawblog.com/uploads/file/Revised Cobra Alert 2_26_09 _2_.pdf

Yesterday, President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009 (the “Act”). Although a substantial portion of the Act is dedicated to …

AHLA and a Florida newspaper have reported an ongoing case in which 4 trauma surgeons have obtained a TRO blocking  their summary suspensions, but the case is not over yet and there  is no formal opinion. The AHLA report and the newspaper link are below.

Hospital officials argue suspension of trauma surgeons was necessary to protect patient

…

As they do every year, the Internal Revenue Service increased the dollar limits (adjusted for cost-of-living increases) that apply to qualified retirement plans. There are three separate charts below that list the limits that have changed for 2009. The three charts are separated to identify the revised limits for: (1) defined contribution plans, (2) defined benefit plans, …

(Chuck Mowll, cmowll@jointcommission.org) http://www.jointcommission.org/Library/jconline/jconline_jan_2009.htm

Standard MS.1.20 Task Force to meet in March

The MS.1.20 Task Force will meet in March to continue its work of determining the best approach to revise Standard MS.1.20 relating to Medical Staff bylaws. Any recommended changes would be the subject of a field review and consideration by the…

Med Law Blog Editor

About Our Practice Group

Tucker Arensberg’s Healthcare Practice Group includes some of the most experienced health law attorneys in the region. We handle the legal problems so our clients can handle the important work of caring for patients. We work with physicians, physical therapists, dentists, optometrists, and all other professional care givers to help them avoid the many legal traps of running a practice. Tucker Arensberg lawyers have experience in all major health law issues.