The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) announced in a press release this week that Anthem, Inc. (Anthem), one of the nation’s largest health benefit companies, has agreed to pay $16 million and take substantial corrective action to settle potential violations
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Oregon Declines to Follow New Federal AHP Regulations
The Oregon Division of Financial Regulation (the “Division”) recently issued a bulletin clarifying Oregon law and guidance applicable to association health plans (“AHPs”), which are multiple employer welfare arrangements (“MEWAs”) under ERISA. In Bulletin No. DFR 2018-07 (the “Bulletin”), the
Ruling in the Eleventh Circuit Highlights Both the Breadth and Potential Limitations of AKS’s Employment Safe Harbor
Health care lawyers have long debated whether the AKS safe harbor provides full protection for employees who are paid to market a supplier’s services. In Carrel v. AIDS Healthcare Foundation, 898 F.3d 1267 (Aug. 7, 2018), the Eleventh Circuit might
Welcome to Health Law Insider!
Welcome to Stoel Rives’ newest blog: Health Law Insider. Health Law Insider will provide insights from our team of experts on the full spectrum of legal issues that are shaping the health care industry, including data privacy and security, fraud
CMS Rule Extends Short-Term Health Insurance
On August 1, 2018, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued a final rule that allows individuals to purchase short-term limited-duration health plans. Under the rule, short-term health plans can span an initial period of less than 12 months,
Ninth Circuit Takes Broad View of What Is Required for a Licensee to Be “Independent”
On July, 23, 2018 a three-judge panel in the Ninth Circuit issued a decision in Obidi v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (Case No. 17-55539), holding that a class-action suit against Wal-Mart and FirstSight Vision Services, Inc., a vision-only health care plan,
Health Care Consolidation: Keeping Patients in Mind
According to a recent report from the Health Research Institute at PricewaterhouseCoopers, there were 255 health care merger and acquisition deals in Q2 of 2018. Though this number represents an overall reduction in health care deals over Q1, as evidenced
Proposed Medicare E/M Payment Overhaul Draws Mixed Reviews
Touted as a major step in its efforts toward Medicare modernization, CMS issued a proposed Physician Fee Schedule rule on July 12, 2018 that would, in part, gut the current five-tier structure for Evaluation and Management (“E/M”) codes and collapse
ACA Debate Intensifies Ahead of Midterm Elections
Ten Republican Senators have introduced a bill that they say will require health insurers to cover pre-existing conditions if the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) is invalidated. Critics counter that the bill offers little actual protection. Like the ACA, it would