Category: MVP
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OIG Issues Favorable Advisory Opinion Allowing Free Pharmaceutical Product To Patients
By Jim Hoover, Burr & Forman LLP On January 15, 2025, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) posted a favorable Advisory Opinion regarding a program to provide free access to a pharmaceutical product to patients who meet financial and other eligibility criteria and who do not have adequate coverage for the product. The Advisory Opinion…
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FTC’s Non-Compete Ban Blocked by Federal Judge
By: H. Carlton Hilson, Amy Jordan Wilkes, and Gabriell Jeffreys, Burr & Forman LLC On August 20, 2024, a federal judge in Texas blocked a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) final rule from taking effect that would effectively ban most employee non-compete agreements. The rule, which was set to take effect on September 4, 2024, would…
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New OIG Advisory Opinion Reinforces OIG’s Stance Against Turnkey Contractual Joint Ventures
By: Jessie Bekker, Burr & Forman LLP The Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) has issued a new opinion with a familiar message cautioning providers against entering into suspect contractual joint ventures. The OIG’s latest Advisory Opinion examined the Anti-Kickback Statute’s application to an arrangement related to the provision of intraoperative neuromonitoring (“IONM”) services (the “Proposed…
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NEW STATE OF EMERGENCY PROVIDES HEALTHCARE PROVIDER FLEXIBILITIES
By Angie Cameron Smith with Burr & Forman, LLP On July 6, 2021 Governor Kay Ivey allowed the State of Emergency in Alabama to expire. She had previously proclaimed a State of Emergency due to the COVID-19 Pandemic effective March 13, 2020. Along with that proclamation, came the invocation of Alabama’s Emergency Management Act. When…
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OSHA Issues COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) for the Healthcare Industry
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) for the healthcare industry on June 21, 2021.[1] The Occupational Safety and Health Act (“the Act”) passed in 1970 and created OSHA to administer the Act. It has been thirty-eight years since OSHA issued its last ETS. That ETS was issued in…
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Payor Auditing Activities
By: Kelli Carpenter Fleming During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) suspended certain payor audit and oversight activities. However, now that communities are beginning to reopen, so are the audit activities. CMS and other third-party payors are increasing their audit activities, including claims filed during the public…
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No Honor Among Thieves
Most Americans will likely never forget where they were in March of 2020 when the world seemingly shut down. While many used that time to reflect, enjoyed down time with family or even binge watched streaming services, health care workers geared up to save the lives of people impacted by COVID-19. The novelty of this…
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Potential HIPAA Changes That Would Allow Healthcare Providers to Disclose Phi and Better Protect Patients
by Lindsey Phillips, Burr & Forman On December 10, 2020, the Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) at the United States Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) announced proposed changes to the regulations implementing the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”). The proposed changes, which are set out in the Notice of…
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Physician Recruitment Agreements – What You Need to Know
by Howard E. Bogard Both the federal Anti-kickback Statute and the Stark Law allow a hospital to provide certain financial assistance to aid a medical practice in its efforts to recruit and hire a new physician. Financial assistance can take many forms, including a collection guarantee, net income guarantee and/or payments with respect to a…
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Are You Ready for Your PPP Loan Audit?
By: Jim Hoover, Burr & Forman PPP loans received by individuals and businesses under the CARES Act will be audited (“reviewed”) by the SBA. PPP loans of $2 million or more will automatically be audited by the SBA. Many PPP loans of less than $2 million will also be audited. Borrowers will often receive notification…