On July 17, 2024, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signed the Fair Contracting for Health Care Practitioners Act into law, which will become effective as of January 1, 2025 (click here see the full bill). Any noncompete covenants that are greater than one year in length in an employment agreement for a healthcare provider, entered into … Continue Reading
Challenges to the FTC Rule As we previously discussed on Med Law Blog, following the FTC’s approval of the final rule to ban non-compete agreements for for-profit businesses in April, several businesses have challenged the FTC’s authority to enforce this rule. The final rule is set to take effect on September 4, 2024, but in … Continue Reading
As expected, businesses have sued the FTC challenging the recent final rule that ends non-compete agreements, as reported by the Wall Street Journal Wednesday morning (read WSJ article here). The U.S. Chamber of Commerce challenged the final rule in federal court in East Texas, which has been joined by other business groups. A lawsuit was … Continue Reading
In a Special Open Commission Meeting held this afternoon, the Federal Trade Commission voted to approve the final rule to ban non-compete agreements for for-profit businesses, the effective date of such ban being in 120-days. Important items of note with the final rule: The FTC acknowledged that much of the healthcare industry operates under a … Continue Reading
The Federal Trade Commission has announced that it will be holding a Special Open Commission Meeting on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, at 2pm EST regarding the rule to ban non-compete agreements (read the announcement here). The expectation for this meeting is that the FTC will disclose the proposed final rule followed by remarks by the … Continue Reading
The Allegheny County Medical Society has reported that the Pennsylvania House of Representatives has passed a bill to bar non-compete agreements in healthcare employment. Click here for a copy of the Press Release, and a copy of the legislation. There are limitations: It now goes to the Pennsylvania Senate.… Continue Reading
During the American Bar Association’s 39th National Institute on White Collar Crime, the most senior executives of the DOJ (Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco) delivered remarks promoting the success of DOJ compliance and enforcement by: Here are links to the remarks of Attorney General Garland and Deputy Attorney General … Continue Reading
“On February 21, 2024, Change Healthcare, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group was the victim of the most significant cyberattack on the US healthcare system in American history. Change Healthcare is the predominant source of more than 100 critical functions that keep the healthcare system operating.” –American Hospital Association Letter March 4, 2024 This hack was … Continue Reading
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an interim final rule requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for workers in most institutional care settings. A copy of the CMS press release can be found at https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/biden-harris-administration-issues-emergency-regulation-requiring-covid-19-vaccination-health-care. This rule applies to those facilities subject to CMS regulations. Several facilities are regulated by the CMS, but this does … Continue Reading
Tucker Attorneys Mike Cassidy and Jerry Russo have been named as presenters for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute (PBI) 2022 Health Law Institute. They will be presenting a program entitled “Federal Telehealth Enforcement: Policy Through Prosecution”. Stay tuned for more information on this PBI Health Law Institute program as the date draws nearer.… Continue Reading
Congratulations to Mike Cassidy on his recent appointment as a Member of the Legal Advisory Group of the National Center for Telehealth and eHealth Law (CTeL). Mike will co-present on behalf of CTeL, in a webinar entitled “The Myths about Telehealth–Hear the Facts”, at CTel’s Digital Health Summit in December. Click this link for more … Continue Reading
UPMC’s employment records were hacked by criminals in 2014. A civil class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of approximately 66,000 employees, and criminal cases were filed by federal prosecutors against a number of individuals and 4 have already pled guilty in connection with the hacking of the UPMC human resources data and using some … Continue Reading
In previous Med Law Blog posts, we have featured examples of increased enforcement in the telehealth area, including the recent creation of the National Rapid Response Strike Force, announced by the Department of Justice on September 30, 2020, and OIG Takedowns in the DME and telehealth arenas. Now, the OIG work plan includes at least … Continue Reading
Medical practices are now beginning to encounter Medicare payment claw backs by CMS for COVID Accelerated and Advanced Payments (CAAP) and Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecution for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) abuses. Please check the following links below for additional information. Justice Department Takes Action Against COVID-19 Fraud: Justice Department Takes Action Against COVID-19 Fraud … Continue Reading
Click here to read the article on the 2021 Medicare Physician Fee changes which appeared in the March 2021 edition of the Allegheny County Medical Society Bulletin. … Continue Reading
The Pennsylvania Department of Health has announced “Amendments to Charge for Medical Records”. Attached is the link for a copy of the notice.… Continue Reading
Recent reports indicate that House and Senate Committee leaders have apparently mutually agreed on a bipartisan arrangement for correcting or preventing surprise medical bills, although legislation has not yet been passed. Attached is an outline of the “No Surprise Act”, which essentially deals with insured patients receiving unexpected bills for medical services. Note that this … Continue Reading
This article written by Michael A. Cassidy and Jerry J. Russo appeared in the October 2020 Issue of the Allegheny County Medical Society Bulletin.… Continue Reading
On September 24, 2020, President Trump issued an Executive Order encouraging Congress to restrict surprise billing and prevent third party payors from denying care to patients with pre-existing conditions. President Trump wants Congress to act prior to the end of the year, but obviously there is not much chance of that happening.… Continue Reading
Mike Cassidy’s article, “Return to practice under the COVID threat” appears in the Bulletin of the Allegheny County Medical Society June edition.… Continue Reading
I. Introduction. The COVID-19 pandemic presents all physicians, but especially private practice physicians, with numerous clinical, liability and business challenges. We have chosen the following categories to organize and present recommended guidance and linked resources for your information: 1. Clinical Guidance 2. Malpractice Liability 3. Reimbursement 4. Employer/Workers Compensation 5. Telehealth II. Clinical Guidance. Many … Continue Reading
Just a few short weeks ago, the Center for Disease Control’s Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases warned that the spread of coronavirus in the U.S. was “not a question of if, but when.” As of this updated posting, the entire country is locked in an unprecedented grip of uncertainty and … Continue Reading
Just a few short weeks ago, during a press briefing by the Center for Disease Control’s Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, the director warned that the spread of coronavirus in the U.S. was “not a question of if, but when.” As of the date of this posting, there are now … Continue Reading
Just a few short weeks ago, the Center for Disease Control’s Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases warned that the spread of coronavirus in the U.S. was “not a question of if, but when.” As of this updated posting, the entire country is locked in an unprecedented grip of uncertainty and … Continue Reading
