Health Care Law Blog
On April 16, 2012, the Office of Regulatory Reinvention (“ORR”) issued a report to Governor Snyder proposing the deregulation of 18 occupations and the elimination of 9 occupational boards. Of particular interest to Michigan health care providers are the recommendations for deregulation of dietitians and nutritionists; ocularists; respiratory care providers; and speech pathologists. The report also recommended elimination of the following, health-care relevant occupational boards: Board of Dietetics and Nutrition, Board of Occupational Therapy, Board of Respiratory Care, Board of Speech Language Pathology, and Osteopathic Medicine Advisory Board.
Recently, health care organizations have been inquiring about employment tax issues, and more specifically, the proper tax classification of their workers. Questions include whether to classify medical directors, such as hospice medical directors, as employees versus independent contractors.
The Departments of the Treasury, Labor and Health and Human Services (collectively, the "Departments") recently published the final regulation (the "Regulation") with regard to the Summary of Benefits and Coverage ("SBC") requirements under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("PPACA"). The Regulation implements certain disclosure requirements in order to help individuals and health plans better understand their medical coverage as well as other coverage options. Many liken the SBC to the summary plan description for retirement plans.
