The Kaiser Foundation has recently updated its website: www.statehealthfacts.org. The site has an amazing collection of state health facts, including Medicare reimbursement rates and Medicare participation rates, which are often the subject of significant speculation. The site has been added as a link on the Med Law Blog and I recommend you peruse it.
Legal News
CBO Says Preventive Care Costs More!
Surprise! Surprise! Another blow to healthcare reform. In an August 7, 2009 letter to the House Subcommittee on Health, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) concludes:
"Although different types of preventive care have different effects on spending, the evidence suggests that for most preventive services, expanded utilization leads to higher, not lower, medical spending overall."
"Researchers…
Physicians for National Health Program (“PNHP”) Endorse Single Payor Health Reform
PNHP is a group of 16,000 doctors nationwide who advocate for single payor national health insurance for the purpose of "removing the wasteful insurance company middlemen from our health system and redirecting the resultant savings into care."
For an alternative view on the progress of health care reform from a different prospective, check their website…
Mike Cassidy Named Again To America’s Best Lawyers List
Mike Cassidy has been named again as one of America’s Best Lawyers in Healthcare , for the 2010 list.
Best Lawyers is the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession. For a quarter century, we have helped lawyers and clients find legal counsel in unfamiliar jurisdictions or unfamiliar specialties.
Best Lawyers compiles lists…
Pennsylvania Regional Health Initiative Releases 10 Year Report
The Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative has issued a press release and report describing its 10 years of efforts in reforming health care, commenting on the Obama Health Care Reform Initiatives, and describing the Federal Economic Stimulus Bill for health care technology improvements, plus other reports. All the reports are attached as links below and make…
FTC Settles Price-Fixing Charges Against San Francisco Bay Area Doctors’ Group
UPMC Faces Class Action Alleging Fair Labor Standards Act Meal Break Violation
A federal judge has conditionally certified a class of potentially 85,000 current and former employees of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) in a Fair Labor Standards Act lawsuit challenging UPMC’s meal break policy. Conditional certification means that plaintiffs will be able to notify all current and former non-exempt employees from the past three years…
The Paper Chase – New Family And Medical Leave Notice Requirements
The Department of Labor recently issued new amendments to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Those amendments have added to the notice requirements under the act, creating both a paperwork chore for businesses and a potential legal trap if the required notices are not provided. This Alert summarizes the new notice requirements.
General Notice
The General Notice must be…
The Pennsylvania Safety Authority 2008 Annual Report
The Pennsylvania Safety Authority issued its Annual Report for 2008, press release and Executive Summary.
Cassidy Selected For AHLA Masters Program
Mike Cassidy was one of 25 lawyers selected nationwide for participation in the American Health Lawyers Association Masters Program. The Masters Program conferences are held every few years as a high level study group or focus group for specific healthcare issues. The topic this year is "Improving Quality and Bonding with Physicians: A Health System Case Study." The format…