Articles

03.06.14

Medicare Part D Proposed Rule: Where Did Things Go Wrong?

It's worth sitting up and taking notice when everyone seems to hate what you are doing. Last week, 20 of the 24 members of the sometimes fractious Senate Finance Committee wrote Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Marilyn Tavenner about a Medicare Part D proposed rule CMS ...


03.05.14

A Victory for Easement Holders

Easements are not a fast evolving area of the law-common law has had the basics down for a few hundred years or so. Yet one should never underestimate the ingenuity of neighbors to craft new disputes-and make new law.


03.01.14

Hallmarks of the Accountability Model

The widespread shift in healthcare from fee-for-service payment models to accountability-based payment models has led to increasing use of value-based contracting structures, such as shared savings, global budgets, or bonuses and withholds. Contracts implementing these accountability-based payment ...


03.01.14

Value-Based Contracting

The widespread shift in healthcare from fee-for-service payment models to accountability-based payment models has led to increasing use of value-based contracting structures, such as shared savings, global budgets, or bonuses and withholds. Contracts implementing these accountability-based payment ...


02.28.14

Can Community Zero Net Energy Work?

It is not uncommon these days to see articles touting the benefits and challenges of zero net energy development projects."Zero net energy," "net-zero buildings," "zero net energy buildings," and a few other technical classifications all have a common foundation in the design, construction and ...


02.25.14

Environmental Assessment Standard Just the Starting Point for Managing the Purchase of Contaminated ...

On December 30, 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") adopted ASTM E1527-13, an updated Phase I environmental assessment standard for performing all appropriate inquiries to establish landowner liability protections under the U.S. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation ...


02.24.14

Inside HHS Rule on Test Results From HIPAA-Covered Labs

On Feb. 6, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published a final rule amending the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 ("CLIA") regulations and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ("HIPAA") regulations to permit ...


02.19.14

Expansion of California's Anti-Deficiency Laws Means More Litigation For Creditors

Turning a narrow consumer shield into a potentially broad sword, this summer California expanded its anti-deficiency judgment laws to prohibit not only the judicial pursuit of mortgage deficiency balances, but also to declare that post-foreclosure deficiencies can be neither "owed" nor ...


02.14.14

Swipe Fee Settlement Yields More Litigation

Although the parties reached a $7.25 billion class action settlement of the antitrust suit brought by merchants against Visa and MasterCard over swipe fees, the case is far from over.The protracted legal battle centers on allegations by merchants that Visa and MasterCard engaged in a price-fixing ...


02.06.14

Key Nonprofit Corporate Law and Governance Developments in 2013

For a year seemingly dominated by Affordable Care Act topics, 2013 nevertheless included a substantial number of corporate law and governance developments of great significance to nonprofit hospitals and health systems. In the midst of consolidation, enforcement and other health-care industry ...