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.
Recent experiences of major health care companies offer a reminder of the importance of data security and following a well-written policy for compliance with the HIPAA Privacy Rule. Lithuanian police reported on Tuesday that a hacking group had illegally obtained and published over 25,000 private photos and personal data from a chain of European plastic […]
After the withdrawal of the American Health Care Act in late March in the face of defeat, Republicans have continued to work on a healthcare bill that can pass Congressional muster. Earlier this week an amendment to the AHCA was negotiated between Tom MacArthur, moderate Republican and leader of the “Tuesday Group,” and House conservative […]
On February 27, 2017, Senate Bill 210 (“S.B. 210”) was introduced into the Nevada Legislature, which paves the way for expanded anesthesiology practice and patient care opportunities in the State of Nevada. Specifically, S.B. 210 provides for the licensure and regulation of anesthesiology assistants, a category of medical professionals who practice exclusively in the anesthesiology […]
Cloud-based service providers (CSPs), like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure, offer online access to shared computing resources. As such, they have developed a “shared responsibility model” for how CSPs and companies that use their cloud services will share responsibilities when it comes to ensuring security in the cloud. A lot of companies believe that, […]
Health care providers may favor arbitration due to the perception that it is a faster, less expensive alternative to litigation. State and federal policy favors arbitration for the same reasons. Because of the strong public policy favoring arbitration, doubts as to whether a case is subject to arbitration are resolved in favor of arbitration.[1] (Arbitration […]
By Paul Giancola Healthcare in the United States costs at least two to three times as much as healthcare in other developed countries. One of the reasons usually given is defensive medicine – doctors who order unnecessary tests and procedures due to fear of being sued. Some also argue that such treatments unnecessarily drive up […]
Each year, a number of surveys and commentators describe and predict the trending topics of interest and importance to boards of directors in the for-profit and non-profit sectors. As we wrap up the first quarter of 2017, it appears that many of the predicted hot topics continue to garner attention from various corners. Cybersecurity – […]
by Allison Davis For providers interested in simplifying the provider-patient relationship, one option is direct primary care. Ironically, though, simplification can be complicated, particularly when the government is involved. One of the greatest hurdles to medical practice simplification is the role of Medicare on both the patient side and provider side. Any physician interested in […]
By Terry Roman On February 24, a Republican draft reconciliation bill was leaked to Politico. While it hasn’t been introduced or acknowledged by House Republicans it provides the most comprehensive look so far at how House Republicans plan to change the Affordable Care Act (ACA). First, what does it not do. The bill does not […]
Last month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (“SAMHSA”) released a Final Rule updating the Confidentiality of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Patient Records regulations at Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 2 (“Part 2”). The Final Rule serves to modernize the regulations […]
