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Karl A. Thallner, all library items

  1. Reed Smith Health Care Reform Review - The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as amended by the Reconciliation Act

    April 09, 2010

    On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), a sweeping measure designed to expand access to health insurance, reduce health care spending (particularly in the Medicare program); expand federal fraud and abuse authorities and transparency requirements; impose new taxes and fees on health industry sectors; and institute a variety of other health policy reforms. The President also signed a second bill into law on March 30, 2010, the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Reconciliation Act), which includes a series of “fixes” to the PPACA, including substantive changes to the PPACA’s provisions regarding Medicare prescription drug coverage, Medicare Advantage and fee-for-service payments, Stark law self-referral policy, and Medicaid matching payments, among many others. Within the thousands of pages of the new laws are numerous provisions that will have a direct and material impact on nearly every component of the health care delivery and financing systems in the United States, including health insurers, health care providers, and manufacturers of pharmaceuticals and medical devices, as well as employers, taxpayers, and patients. Moreover, the impact of some of these provisions will be felt immediately, as certain provisions are effective upon enactment, and some have January 1, 2010 effective dates. Reed Smith has prepared a major Alert concentrating on those PPACA provisions we believe are of most interest to health care providers and medical device and pharmaceutical manufacturers.

  2. Pennsylvania Issues Licensing Regulations for Home Care Agencies and Registries

    December 16, 2009

    Life Sciences Health Industry Alert 2009-312

  3. Health Information Privacy and Incentives, Medicaid Funding, and Other Health Care Provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

    April 15, 2009

    On Feb. 17, 2009, President Obama signed into law H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the “ARRA”).

  4. Pennsylvania Proposes Regulations for a New Provider Type: Assisted Living Facilities

    April 15, 2009

    On Aug. 9, 2008, the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (“DPW”) published its proposed regulations for assisted living facilities operating within the Commonwealth. The proposed regulations were drafted in response to the Pennsylvania General Assembly’s enactment of Act 56 on July 25, 2007. Act 56 amended the statute regulating and licensing personal care homes by creating, defining, and providing for the regulation of a new form of facility to provide long-term care services within the state: the assisted living facility.

  5. Texas Hospital Accused of Orchestrating an Insurer Boycott of Competitor Agrees to Pay $700,000 to Settle With Texas AG

    January 28, 2009

    Global Regulatory Enfocement E-Flash

  6. Health Care Reform During the Obama Presidency: The Impact on Hospitals

    December 11, 2008

    During the recent presidential campaign, health care reform was a centerpiece of the agenda of President-elect Obama and Republican nominee John McCain. Although the two candidates articulated quite different approaches, both put forth proposals to change significantly the existing system of health care financing and delivery. That the two major party candidates emphasized health care reform evidences the recent emergence of a consensus that the health care system is broken and in need of repair. Indeed, many of the diverse constituencies in health care—which have historically battled with each other to protect their own interests in the status quo—appear at this early stage interested in working cooperatively with the federal government to adopt change. Thus, even with the current need to address the economy and the war, the early years of the Obama administration may represent a unique opportunity to implement significant health care reform.

  7. Significant Stark Law Changes Adopted in the 2009 IPPS Final Rule

    August 22, 2008

    Client Alert 08-142

  8. Proposed Stark Law Changes in CMS’s 2009 IPPS Proposed Rule

    June 04, 2008

    Client Bulletin 2008-088

  9. CMS Stark II (Phase III) Final Rule

    October 04, 2007

    Health Care Client Alert

  10. Update on Important Stark Law Developments: CMS Proposes Regulatory Changes, Solicits Comments on Other Key Related Issues, and Will Mandate Disclosure of Certain Hospitals’ Financial Relationships

    July 24, 2007

    Health Care Bulletin HC2007-06

  11. Stark and reassignment rule changes proposed

    February 26, 2007

    Buried within the 1400-plus pages of the recently published final rule setting physician payment rates and policies for 2007, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that its proposed changes to the Stark law’s in-office ancillary services (IOAS) exception, as well as to Medicare’s reassignment rules, which had been published in the August 22, 2006 Federal Register, have not been finalized. Deciding to give further consideration to the potential ramifications of finalizing these proposed changes, CMS Acting Administrator Leslie V. Norwalk commented that CMS "want[s] to be careful that we do not interfere with legitimate group practice arrangements that enable Medicare beneficiaries to receive medical services at one location." In fact, a closer look at the proposed changes reveals that if these changes are eventually finalized as they had been proposed, some physician group practices may very well need to consider revamping the manner in which they furnish ancillary services in connection the patient care they provide.

  12. Final Anti-Kickback Safe Harbors and Stark Exceptions for Electronic Prescribing and Health Records Arrangements

    October 04, 2006

    Health Care Bulletin HC2006-07

  13. Deficit Reduction Act Enacted with Major Medicare and Medicaid Provisions

    February 16, 2006

    Health Care Bulletin HC2006-01

  14. Government Seeks to Encourage e-Prescribing

    February 07, 2006

    The influential 1999 Institute of Medicine study, “To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System,” described the prevalence of preventable medical errors in the U.S. health care system, and outlined a comprehensive strategy to reduce such errors.

  15. Proposed New Anti-Kickback Safe Harbors and Stark Exceptions for Electronic Prescribing and Health Records Arrangements

    November 18, 2005

    Health Care Bulletin HC2005-10

  16. Recent Developments Regarding Hospital-Physician "Gainsharing"

    March 17, 2005

    Health Care Bulletin HC2005-04

  17. Office of Inspector General Supplemental Compliance Program Guidance for Hospitals

    July 16, 2004

    Health Care Bulletin HC2004-14

  18. Not-For-Profit Hospital Class Action Lawsuits Filed

    July 16, 2004

    Health Care Bulletin HC2004-15

  19. CMS Publishes Final Rule for Medicare Long-Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System Annual Payment Rate Updates and Policy Changes, and Proposes Policy Changes for Hospitals-Within-Hospitals

    June 11, 2004

    Health Care Bulletin HC2004-12

  20. CMS Stark II (Phase II) Final Rule

    April 29, 2004

    Health Care Bulletin HC2004-08

  21. HHS Agencies Issue Industry Guidance on Hospital Discounts

    April 08, 2004

    Health Care Bulletin HC2004-05

  22. CMS Issues Final Outlier Payment Changes for General Acute Care Hospitals and Long-Term Care Hospitals

    June 19, 2003

    Health Care Bulletin HC2003-14

  23. OIG Issues Special Advisory Bulletin on Contractual Joint Ventures

    May 05, 2003

    Health Care Bulletin HC2003-11

  24. OIG Advisory Opinion No. 03-8: Rehabilitation Unit Management Arrangements

    April 23, 2003

    Health Care Bulletin HC2003-08

  25. High-Profile Cases Generate Interest in Coporate Responsibility

    March 07, 2003

  26. Reminder Regarding OIG Solicitation of Public Comments on: (1) Certain Credentialing Practices Under the Anti-Kickback Statute; and (2) Exceptions to the Civil Monetary Penalty Law for Selected Beneficiary Incentives

    January 27, 2003

    Health Care Bulletin HC2003-02

  27. CMS Augments Guidance on Review of Hospital Outlier Payments

    January 08, 2003

    Health Care Bulletin 2003-01

  28. CMS to Scrutinize Hospitals with High Inpatient Outlier Payments

    December 13, 2002

    Health Care Bulletin HC2002-23

  29. CMS Publishes Final Rule for Medicare Long-Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System

    September 12, 2002

    Health Care Bulletin HC02-19.

  30. Court Rules that Lithotripsy is Not Covered by Stark II Referral Ban

    July 31, 2002

    Health Care Bulletin HC02-15

  31. Oversight of ambulatory surgical procedures

    June 01, 2002

  32. CMS Publishes Proposed Rule for Medicare Inpatient Hospital Prospective Payment System, Including EMTALA and Provider-Based Policy Changes

    May 13, 2002

    Health Care Bulletin HC02-09

  33. CMS Publishes Proposed Rule for Medicare Long-Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System

    April 02, 2002

    Health Care Bulletin HC02-07

  34. U.S. Supreme Court Denies Petitions to Review “One Purpose” Test Under Anti-Kickback Statute

    February 15, 2002

    Health Care Bulletin HC02-02

  35. Vol. VI, No. 3 (December)

    December 17, 2001

    Health Law Monitor

  36. Prospective Payment System for Medicare Payment of Inpatient Hospital Services Provided by a Rehabilitation Hospital or by a Rehabilitation Unit of a Hospital

    September 24, 2001

    Health Care Bulletin 01-13

  37. Vol. VI, No. 2 (Summer 2001)

    September 19, 2001

    Health Law Monitor

  38. OIG approves hospital-physician gainsharing

    July 01, 2001

  39. Stark II and physicians’ outside relationships

    May 01, 2001

  40. HCFA’s Final Stark II Regulations With Comment Period (Phase I)

    February 28, 2001

    Health Care Bulletin HC01-05

  41. OIG Issues Advisory Opinion Validating a Hospital-Physician “Gainsharing” Arrangement

    February 20, 2001

    Health Care Bulletin HC01-04

  42. OIG Final Compliance Program Guidance for Physician Practices

    October 11, 2000

    Health Care Bulletin HC00-14

  43. OIG Draft Compliance Program Guidance For Physician Practices

    June 16, 2000

    Health Care Bulletin 00-10

  44. OIG Issues Report On Hospital Ownership Of Physician Practices

    September 24, 1999

    Health Care 99-12

  45. OIG Issues Special Advisory Bulletin on Hospital-Physician “Gainsharing”

    July 19, 1999

    Health Care 99-09

  46. Medicare+Choice Fraud and Abuse Provisions Health Law Monitor Vol. III, No. 2

    July 01, 1998

    Health Law Monitor