Articles

12.19.11

Key Takeaways From HHS Newly Released Guidance on Exchanges

On Nov. 29, 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released new guidance on the implementation of affordable insurance exchanges, in the form of a questions-and-answers document and an amended funding opportunity announcement for exchange establishment cooperative agreements.This ...


09.16.11

Sequestration and Medicare: The Two Percent Solution?

Congress passed and President Obama signed into law on Aug. 2 the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA) to increase the federal debt limit and avoid a projected default on U.S. government obligations. The BCA made reductions in future federal spending. It also created a process through which the Office ...


08.03.11

CMS Proposed Rule on Health Benefit Exchange Implementation

In mid-July, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a proposed rule on the establishment of American Health Benefit Exchange (‘‘Exchanges’’) and Qualified Health Plans. These regulations largely codify Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirements, with some ...


08.01.11

Ten Key Privacy Issues for Health Information Exchanges

Community-wide electronic health information exchanges (HIEs) are a centerpiece of current federal health care policy. HIEs are likely to play an important role in the development of accountable care organizations, the “meaningful use” of electronic health records under Medicare and ...


07.18.11

Supreme Court Strikes Down Vermont Prescriber Data-Restriction

On June 23, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Vermont’s law restricting the sale, disclosure, and use of pharmacy records that reveal the prescribing patterns of individual physicians. Vermont and other states with similar laws argue that these laws both protect physician privacy and curtail ...


07.15.11

Finality & Remittitur: What Goes Up Must Come Down

Sir Isaac Newton and Sammy Davis Jr. (courtesy of Blood, Sweat and Tears) understood a universal law: What goes up, must come down. This applies as much to appellate litigation as gravity. Cases start and end in the trial court. The notice of appeal is the jurisdictional document (filed by a ...


06.06.11

The Proposed ACO Program: Issues for the Life Sciences Industry

Accountable care organizations (ACOs), a creation of the controversial Accountable Care Act (ACA), are among the most discussed innovations in healthcare delivery. Now, life science companies are taking a long, hard look at ACOs to determine what effect they may have on sales of existing therapies ...


06.02.11

New Requirements to Consider When Dealing with Fairness Opinions

Volume 18, Number 1 September/October 2008Fairness opinions are frequently used in connection with change of control or other material corporate transactions to opine on the fairness, from a financial perspective, of the proceeds of the transaction. Effective December 8, 2007, the Securities and ...


06.02.11

Contamination Examination: Tainted Properties May Be Worth the Risk for Savvy Investors

Real estate recessions create terrific investment opportunities—the trick is figuring out which ones are right for you. With banks and loan servicers increasingly swamped by foreclosure properties, environmentally contaminated properties can offer particularly good deals. A fair amount of ...


06.02.11

A Debate Over Large or Small Projects Rages

An ongoing debate exists among those with the power to decide matters about how to reduce greenhouse gases in order to reduce or eliminate global climate change.As utilities struggle to meet their new renewable portfolio standard (RPS) goals--and indeed many appear set to fail--a particular debate ...