Health Law Advisor

by Daniel E. Gospin and Amy F. Lerman

As part of continued efforts to expand the Medicare Recovery Audit Contractor (“RAC”) program, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced in November 2011 the implementation of a demonstration project that will allow RACs to conduct prepayment reviews on certain types of Medicare claims that historically have resulted in high rates of improper payments.

The prepayment review demonstration project will focus these efforts in 11 states—seven of which were selected because they have significant populations of fraud- and ...

Our colleague at Epstein Becker Green Michelle Capezza recently posted this on the Technology Company Counselor blog:

In 2012, both of Epstein Becker Green's founding practices, Health Care & Life Sciences and Labor & Employment, as well as several individual attorneys, were recognized as leaders in their fields of practice.

Specifically, Jay P. Krupin and Steven Swirsky were recognized in the Labor and Employment Management Relations Category.

Click here to read more about Epstein Becker Green’s recognition by Legal 500 United States

It should be an easy matter for an employer to determine which federal laws apply to it.  Not so, however, given the way in which the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) administers and enforces the federal affirmative action laws (Executive Order 11246, the Rehabilitation Act, and the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act).

In the last sixteen months, OFCCP has (a) issued an expansive and controversial new “Directive 293,” asserting broad and deep jurisdiction over health care providers who participate in TRICARE, FEHBP ...

Robert Hudock, a Member of the Firm in the Health Care and Life Sciences practice at Epstein Becker Green, was quoted in an article titled "10 Steps for Thwarting EHR Hackers."

On May 22, 2012, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute ("PCORI"), a private nonprofit entity established by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, announced that it will be seeking applications to fund an initial $96 million in grants for innovative research projects in clinical effectiveness research. These grants will be awarded in four areas recently identified in PCORI's National Priorities Research Agenda.

In May 2012, the Employee Benefit Research Institute (“EBRI”) issued a report showing that the percentage of workers covered by employer-sponsored health care coverage (measured through April 2011) continued to fall despite improvement in the economy.  Employer-sponsored health care coverage is the most common source of health care coverage for workers who exceed the poverty line and who are not yet eligible for Medicare.  It covers approximately 69% of workers, 46% of non-working adults and 55% of children.

The EBRI report notes that there is a generally recognized link ...

In the latest application of the law of unintended consequences….

As you may know, on May 16, 2012, CMS issued a final rule revising the conditions of participation by hospitals in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. (Download the final rule.) Among other things, the final rule includes a provision requiring that at least one member of a hospital's medical staff be included on the governing body of the hospital or hospital system.

This provision did not appear in the proposed rule, and was apparently added to the final rule in response to commenters who suggested that CMS's proposal to ...

As of May 18, 2012, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has received 42,000 petitions that count against the 65,000 H-1B Regular Cap, and 16,000 petitions that count against the 20,000 H-1B Master's Cap. USCIS will continue to accept new petitions until it has filled the H-1B Regular and Master’s Cap.

Click here to read the Special Immigration Alert in its entirety.

Join us Wednesday, June 20, 2012 at 9:00 am Eastern either by Webinar or in person for a complimentary briefing presented by Epstein Becker Green attorneys Eric J. Conn and Amanda R. Strainis-Walker of the Firm’s national OSHA Practice Group.

The briefing will cover actions that employers can take now to prepare their workplaces and workforce for unexpected visits from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), review employers’ and employees’ rights during an OSHA inspection, and discuss inspection strategies to ensure the best possible outcome from an ...