Health Law Advisor

The Information Sharing and Analysis Organization-Standards Organization (ISAO-SO) was set up under the aegis of the Department of Homeland Security pursuant to a Presidential Executive Order intended to foster threat vector sharing among private entities and with the government. ISAOs are proliferating in many critical infrastructure fields, including health care, where cybersecurity and data privacy are particularly sensitive issues given HIPAA requirements and disproportionate industry human and systems vulnerabilities. Therefore, in advising their companies ...

The Information Sharing and Analysis Organization-Standards Organization (ISAO-SO) was set up under the aegis of the Department of Homeland Security pursuant to a Presidential Executive Order intended to foster threat vector sharing among private entities and with the government. ISAOs are proliferating in many critical infrastructure fields, including health care, where cybersecurity and data privacy are particularly sensitive issues given HIPAA requirements and disproportionate industry human and systems vulnerabilities.  Therefore, in advising their companies ...

On March 15, 2017, the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania issued an opinion that sheds insight on how courts view the "writing" requirement of various exceptions under the federal physician self-referral law (or "Stark Law"). The ruling involved the FCA qui tam case, United States ex rel. Emanuele v. Medicor Assocs., No. 1:10-cv-245, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 36593 (W.D. Pa. Mar. 15, 2017), involving a cardiology practice (Medicor Associates, Inc.) and the Hamot Medical Center. The Court's detailed discussion of the Stark Law in its summary judgment ...

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission ("MedPAC") met in Washington, DC, on April 6-7, 2017. The purpose of this and other public meetings of MedPAC is for the commissioners to review the issues and challenges facing the Medicare program and then make policy recommendations to Congress. MedPAC issues these recommendations in two annual reports, one in March and another in June. MedPAC's meetings can provide valuable insight into the state of Medicare, the direction of the program moving forward, and the content of MedPAC's next report to Congress.

As thought leaders in health ...

The state of Maryland appears poised to join seven other states and various local jurisdictions (including Montgomery County, Maryland) already requiring employers to provide paid sick and save leave. On April 5, 2017, the Maryland House of Delegates approved a bill previously passed by the Maryland Senate that would require most employers with at least 15 employees to provide up to five paid sick and safe leave days per year to their employees, and smaller employers to provide up to five unpaid sick and safe leave days. Although the bill contains an effective date of January 1, 2018 ...

In a landmark decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, sitting en banc, held that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is covered under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act’s protections against discrimination on the basis of sex.

In Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, Kimberly Hively, a lesbian part-time professor at Ivy Tech, applied for but was denied several full-time positions with the college. After her employment was later terminated, she filed a lawsuit alleging that she was denied promotion and then terminated because of her ...

In a previous blog post, we discussed a City of Chicago Ordinance, set to take effect on July 1, 2017, that will require pharmaceutical sales representatives to obtain a license before being able to operate within city limits. The draft rules for this ordinance were released on March 17, 2017.

These rules provide additional detail regarding the licensure requirements as well as other associated education and disclosure requirements with which pharmaceutical representatives will be expected to comply beginning in July of this year. In order to obtain initial licensure as a ...

In a decision impacting the interactive process, the Northern District of Texas held in EEOC v. Methodist Hospitals of Dallas, No. 3:2015-cv-03104 (N.D. Tex. Mar. 9, 2017), that employers do not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) by requiring individuals with disabilities that need reassignment as a reasonable accommodation to compete for vacant positions.

Plaintiff, a former patient care technician, requested an accommodation after an on-the-job injury precluded her from performing the required duties of lifting and transporting patients. Though she ...

In a decision with significant implications for private hospitals, on March 7, 2017, the Third Circuit held in Doe v. Mercy Catholic Medical Center that medical residents may bring private causes of action for sex discrimination under Title IX against private teaching hospitals operating residency programs, and are not limited to claims under Title VII.

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. §1681, et seq., prohibits sex discrimination in any “education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.” 20 U.S.C. § 1681(a). A former resident ...

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission ("MedPAC") met in Washington, DC, on March 2-3, 2017. The purpose of this and other public meetings of MedPAC is for the commissioners to review the issues and challenges facing the Medicare program and then make policy recommendations to Congress. MedPAC issues these recommendations in two annual reports, one in March and another in June. MedPAC's meetings can provide valuable insight into the state of Medicare, the direction of the program moving forward, and the content of MedPAC's next report to Congress.

As thought leaders in health ...