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About this Blog

The SW Health Law Checkup is written by the attorneys of Snell & Wilmer to provide their insight on an array of regulatory and compliance matters related to federal and state fraud and abuse laws and regulations, reimbursement, credentialing and employment of providers, joint ventures and physician-entity integration, best practices in compensation and contracting, value-based purchasing and contracting with providers.

Post-Roe Access to Abortion in Arizona: Implications for Patients and Providers

            In a 5-4 decision on Friday, June 24, 2022, the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. As a result of the ruling, many individuals across the country will not have access to abortions within 30 days and many states have laws that will ban abortions effective immediately.[1] However, the legal landscape for […]

| 4 min read
PG

The Supreme Court of Arizona Holds That Hospitals May Not Use Liens Against Third-Party Tortfeasors to Balance Bill Medicaid Patients

On March 9, 2020, the Supreme Court of Arizona issued its ruling in Ansley, et al. v. Banner Health Network, et al., 2020 WL 1126300 (2020), finding that hospitals may not utilize Arizona Revised Statutes § § 33-931(A) and 36-2903.01(G)(4) to secure liens against third-party tortfeasors in order to balance bill patients for medical bills […]

| 3 min read
VL
Former Associate

HHS Seeks Public Comment on the HIPAA Privacy Rule

Earlier today the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights (HHS OCR) issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking public input on the HIPAA Privacy Rule. Specifically, HHS OCR is interested in how the HIPAA Privacy Rule could be modified to further Secretary Azar’s goal of promoting coordinated, value-based health care […]

| 2 min read
AS
Former Associate

Required Reporting of Privileged Information

Arizona physicians must report to the Medical Board “any information that appears to show that a doctor of medicine is or may be medically incompetent, is or may be guilty of unprofessional conduct or is or may be mentally or physically unable to safely engage in the practice of medicine.”   A.R.S. § 32-1451(A).  In fact, […]

| 3 min read
AS
Former Associate

Telemedicine Reimbursement and Regulation: an Overview for Providers

The advent of telemedicine supplies a unique and convenient gateway for patients and providers to connect. The benefits of telemedicine range from increased access to care for patients, to increased efficiency and lower overhead costs for providers. However, as is common with new models of health care delivery, navigating the regulatory landscape can be a […]

| 4 min read
AD
Associate

Protecting Vulnerable Adults While Protecting Their Physicians – A Proposed Statutory Amendment

The Arizona Supreme Court’s recent decision in Delgado v. Manor Care of Tucson AZ, LLC, subjects health care providers to liability for ordinary negligence under the Adult Protective Services Act.  This decision therefore creates a potential new strategy for plaintiffs’ attorneys and subjects providers to more severe consequences than previously available in malpractice suits.  A […]

| 3 min read
AS
Former Associate

Making Informed Decisions About Informed Consent

Patients have come to expect that they will be actively involved in making decisions about their health care. Informed consent aids patient involvement and provides a process whereby a health care provider discusses a treatment or procedure with a patient, including the nature of the proposed procedure, reasonable alternatives, and the relevant risks and benefits […]

| 2 min read
AD
Associate

Nevada’s Direct Primary Care Crisis

In 2012, Turntable Health opened its doors in downtown Las Vegas with one goal—providing preventive healthcare at a reasonable cost. As a direct primary care (“DPC”) clinic, Turntable Health offered unlimited access to primary care physicians for a monthly fee. Only five years after opening, Turntable permanently closed in January 2017, citing an inability to […]

| 4 min read
KM
Former Partner

Arizona Enacts “Surprise Out-Of-Network” Balance Billing Law

by Paul Giancola Arizona has joined the national trend of trying to solve the “problem” of “surprise medical out-of-network bills.” The prevalence of this concern was reported in the New England Journal of Medicine which stated that 22% of patients who visited an emergency department received a surprise bill from an out-of-network provider.  A “surprise […]

| 3 min read
PG