Health Care Law Blog

IRS Focusing on Employment Tax Compliance

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. Read More ›

Categories: Employment, Tax

Posted by: Jennifer B. Van Regenmorter

  |  Contact Author

Share  | 

Agencies Issue Regulations on Summary of Benefits and Coverage Requirements

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. Read More ›

Categories: Employee Benefits, Employment, Insurance, Regulatory, Retirement

Contact Author

Share  | 

OIG Alert – Physicians May Be Liable for False Claims Submitted by Entities Receiving Reassigned Medicare Payments

The Office of Inspector General ("OIG") for the Department of Health and Human Services recently issued an alert, which warned that “physicians who reassign their right to bill the Medicare program and receive Medicare payments by executing the CMS-855R application may be liable for false claims submitted by entities to which they reassigned their Medicare benefits.”  The OIG stressed that physicians remain liable for claims submitted using their provider numbers, even when the claims for services are submitted by another party under a contractual arrangement.  The potential for liability also exists for other types of practitioners who enter into reassignment agreements. Read More ›

Categories: Billing/Payment, Compliance, Employment, Fraud & Abuse, Medicare/Medicaid, Physicians

Contact Author

Share  | 

NLRB Delays Notice Requirement to April 30

In our November 22, 2011 post entitled "Health Facilities Must Display Notice About Employees' Organizing Rights", we conveyed the National Labor Relations Board's ("NLRB") requirement that health facilities, among others, must post a notice advising those on payroll of their rights to negotiate as a group and join a union.  At that time, the notice was required to be posted by January 31, 2012.  However, the NLRB has further delayed the effective date of the required posting until April 30, 2012.  The NLRB agreed to this postponement because of a request by a federal court in Washington D.C. that is currently reviewing a legal challenge to this requirement.  While the implementation date may have been delayed, employers should prepare for the April 30^th deadline.  For more information on the mandatory contents of the required posting, please review our November 22 post.

Categories: Employment, Hospitals

Contact Author

Share  | 

Employers Beware: If you extend COBRA benefits, you may be denied stop-loss coverage

A recent case highlights why a plan sponsor must use caution when agreeing to provide COBRA coverage that extends beyond the maximum COBRA coverage period.  The court in Bekaert Corporation v. Standard Security Life Insurance Company of New York, 2011 WL 3568028 (N.D. Ohio) recently held that an employer who offered extended COBRA coverage pursuant to a separation agreement with a particular employee was not entitled to stop-loss coverage.  In Bekaert,a retiree received extended COBRA continuation health coverage pursuant to a separation agreement with the employer.  The retiree's medical claims were paid under the employer's self-funded health plan and then were submitted for reimbursement under the employer's stop-loss policy as excess loss claims.  The stop-loss carrier denied the claims, stating the retiree was not a covered person under the stop-loss policy. Read More ›

Categories: Employee Benefits, Employment, Hospitals, Insurance, Physicians

Contact Author

Share  | 

Health Facilities Must Display Notice about Employees' Organizing Rights

The NLRB has decreed that, starting on January 31, 2012, health facilities must post a notice informing those on payroll of their rights to negotiate as a group and join a union…but stay tuned.

Currently, the notice is required to list:

• the rights that an employee has under the National Labor Relations Act ("NLRA");
• what is illegal for an employer to do under the NLRA;
• what is illegal for a union to do under the NLRA; and
• what to do if there has been a violation of rights under the NLRA.

The NLRB has copies of a sample notice available.  The notice may be printed on multiple pieces of paper, but it must be 11-by-17-inches in size and placed in a conspicuous location. The National Labor Relations Board (the "NLRB") finalized its rule requiring this notice in the August 30, 2011 federal register. Read More ›

Categories: Employment, Hospitals, Labor Relations, Physicians

Contact Author

Share  | 

4th Circuit Opinions on Health Care Reform Sidestep Issue of Constitutionality

The 4^th Circuit Court of Appeals has issued two opinions related to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("PPACA"), also commonly referred to as Health Care Reform.  What is interesting in these two decisions is that the appellate court refrains from ruling on the constitutionality of PPACA.  Instead, it does not even address the issue because it found adequate grounds to dismiss both cases based on lack of jurisdiction. Read More ›

Categories: Employment, Health Care Reform, Insurance, Regulatory

Posted by: Mindi M. Johnson

  |  Contact Author

Share  | 

Michigan Supreme Court Issues Decision on Small Employer Group Health Coverage

Small employers may soon expect to see provisions in their health plan policies requiring them to make minimum contributions to their employees' premiums as a result of a recent Michigan Supreme Court decision. On May 17, 2011, the Supreme Court of Michigan rendered a decision interpreting a provision in the Small Group Health Coverage Act (the "Act"), a law that requires every insurance carrier wishing to provide health care benefits to small employers in Michigan to offer all of its small-employer health plans to all small employers. MCL 500.3701 et. seq. 

For a complete analysis of this case, see our newsletter article entitled "Michigan Supreme Court Issues Decision on Small Employer Group Health Coverage."

Categories: Billing/Payment, Employment, Insurance

Posted by: Jennifer Kildea Dewane

  |  Contact Author

Share  | 

Physician-Patient Privilege Restricts Enforcement of Non-Compete and Non-Solicitation Clauses in Physician Employment and Practice Agreements

A recent decision by the Michigan Court of Appeals imposes a substantial obstacle to enforcing contracts that prohibit physicians from soliciting or servicing patients after leaving employment or separating from a practice. Steiner v Bonanni (decided April 7, 2011). Read More ›

Categories: Employment, HIPAA, Hospitals, Physicians

Contact Author

Share  |