On June 17, 2010, the federal government published the final interim regulations on the “grandfathering” of healthcare plans that existed when the health care reform legislation became law on March 23, 2010. These rules will help employers and plan sponsors determine if their health care plans comply with the health care reform law. Under the new rules
Michael Cassidy
Labor & Employment Law Update – New Process Steel
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in Legal News
Last Thursday, June 17th, the Supreme Court of the United States held that the National Labor Relations Board lacked authority to act in nearly 600 decisions issued from the end of 2007 to March of this year. In New Process Steel v. National Labor Relations Board that the Board was not authorized to issue decisions when…
Senate Passes 6 Month SGR Fix – House Votes Next Week
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in Medicare & Reimbursement
Senate passes six-month SGR fix
The U.S. Senate passed an amended version of H.R. 3962, now called the “Preservation of Access to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act of 2010,” by unanimous consent this afternoon. This legislation provides a 2.2 percent Medicare physician payment update for six months, from June 1 through Nov. …
ONC Final Rule for Temporary Certification Program for EHR
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in HIPAA, HIT, and EHR
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) today issued a final rule to establish a temporary certification program for electronic health record (EHR) technology. http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2010pres/06/20100618d.html
AMA Releases Guidance On Medicare Physician Fee Decrease
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in Medicare & Reimbursement
CMS will process claims tomorrow, June 18,
with 21 percent cut
As the clock continues to tick toward the June 18 final deadline for implementation of the 21.3 percent cut in Medicare physician payments produced by the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula, U.S. Senate debate continued June 17 over H.R. 4213, the American Jobs and …
Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act (PSQIA) May Change Federal Common Law Privilege
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in Credentialing and Peer Review
In KD v. United States, a decision by the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, both granting and denying a motion for a protective order in parts, indicates that PSQIA of 2005 has changed its opinion regarding the protection of peer review documents under federal common law privilege.
The opinion notes…
CMS Extends Medicare Claim Hold Until June 17, 2010
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in Medicare & Reimbursement
The 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule
The Continuing Extension Act of 2010, enacted on April 15, 2010, extended the zero percent (0%) update to the 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) through May 31, 2010. At this time, Congress is debating the elimination of the negative update that took effect June 1, 2010. The Centers…
Fundamental Fairness Trumps Technical Violations of Bylaws
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in Credentialing and Peer Review
In Ramamurthy v. JFK Medical Center and Solaris Health System the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey affirmed a summary judgment dismissing Dr. Ramamurthy’s Petition for Injunctive Relief, which sought a court order prohibiting a suspension imposed by the hospital. Dr. Ramamurthy had argued at the trial court level that the hospital had…
MedLawBlog Recognized as a ‘Top 100 Twitterers in the Legal World’
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in Legal News
Michael Cassidy’s MedLawBlog was recently recognized by OnlineClasses.org as one of the ‘Top 100 Twitterers in the Legal World’. This list recognized feeds that had legal news and updates.
Please click here to view the full list.
Connecticut Supreme Court Reinstates Physician’s Peer Review Damages
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in Credentialing and Peer Review
The Connecticut Supreme Court issued an interesting decision in the case of Harris v. Bradley Memorial Hospital & Health Center Inc. in May of 2010, which was precipitated by the summary suspension of Dr. Harris. Not only did it overturn the trial court’s grant of judgment notwithstanding the verdict in favor of the hospital, after…