Insights & Resources

Garfunkel Wild's 11th Annual ASC and Health Care Management Virtual Symposium is dedicated to the most important business, legal, clinical, and operational issues facing the ASC and health care management community.

Garfunkel Wild's Sean Leyden will co-present "How to Save Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars on Your Medical Practice Lease or Purchase" at the Fairfield County Medical Association and Hartford County Medical Association's Webinar on Tuesday, October 8, 2024.

Garfunkel Wild will be a sponsor at the Curalta Foot + Ankle‘s 2^nd Annual Management and Educational Conference. 

Garfunkel Wild will be a sponsor at the 2024 Innovations in Value-Based Care Conference, sponsored by Healthix and Helgerson Solutions Group.

NYS Public Health Law 18-c, a new law set to become effective on October 20, 2024, will prohibit providers from obtaining a patient’s consent to pay for any health care services prior to the patient receiving services.  

Garfunkel Wild's David Traskey will present "Hospice Compliance Trends and an Inside Look at HHS-OIG" at the Hospice & Palliative Care Network of Maryland Annual Conference.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (the “OIG”) posted an unfavorable Advisory Opinion (24-08) prohibiting a Corporation offering Medicare Advantage (“MA”), MA-Prescription Drug (“PD”), and MA/MA-PD Employer Group Waiver Plans (“EGWPs”) from sharing a percentage of its savings with its covered groups via a gainshare payment (“Payment”).  

The cybersecurity attack on Change Healthcare (“Change”), a subsidiary of the UnitedHealth Group, has caused widespread disruption, impacting health care providers and individuals whose personal data was compromised. This breach has led to numerous class action lawsuits, divided into two main groups: providers affected by the claims processing shutdown and individuals whose data was leaked. In June 2024, approximately 50 lawsuits were centralized into a Multi-District Litigation (MDL) in federal court in Minnesota. On September 17, 2024, the first conference in the matter occurred. As the litigation progresses, motions to dismiss, potential mediation, and class certification are expected to shape the case.

Garfunkel Wild's Barry Cepelewicz, M.D. and Andrew Zwerling, will present "Your Employment Agreement: How to Best Protect You, Your Practice and Your Patients" at the Westchester County Medical Society Webinar on Wednesday, September 18, 2024. 

The Federal Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services released final rules strengthening consumer protections for patients seeking mental health and substance use disorder treatments.  Despite 15 years since the enactment of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), barriers still exist, preventing individuals from receiving adequate coverage for these issues.  

In June 2024, the New Jersey Department of Human Services, Division of Medical Assistance & Health Services (the Division), issued a Newsletter announcing the ability of Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs) to enroll as billing providers in NJ FamilyCare/Medicaid for claims with service dates on or after July 1, 2024.  This month, the Division issued a Medicaid Alert advising Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) how they are affected by this change.

On August 29, 2024, the Federal Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) withdrew its appeal of a federal court decision that invalidated certain aspects of HHS guidance regarding the use of tracking technologies (e.g., pixels that collect data on website usage to create directed marketing campaigns).  

On August 7, 2024, the New York State Department of Health’s (DOH) proposed regulations for a new, unified licensure process for Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) organizations were published in the New York State Register. The proposed regulations implement New York Public Health Law (PHL) Article 29-EE, which was enacted in 2022. The proposed regulations, if adopted, will impact PACE organizations that are currently operating, as well as entities with pending and future PACE applications.

A Texas Federal Judge issued a decision blocking the FTC’s proposed ban on non-compete agreements, which was set to go into effect on September 4, 2024.   As previously reported, the Texas Federal Court had issued a preliminary injunction limiting the enforceability of the FTC’s non-compete ban for the individual plaintiff in that lawsuit only.  The Judge has now expanded that ruling nationally – preventing the FTC non-compete ban from going into effect. 

As the summer draws to a close, that fall back-to-school feeling comes back for many of us and it’s an excellent time to put your estate planning in order and see if any updates should be made.

In a recent ruling, the New Jersey Supreme Court concluded that the “self-critical analysis” privilege under the Patient Safety Act (“PSA”) and its implementing regulations can only be applicable if the information sought was generated for purposes of an independent patient safety committee that is created solely for the purposes of the PSA  (i.e., the information generated from committees established to meet CMS or other New Jersey quality assurance or process improvement purposes is not protected by the privilege, even if such committees conduct a self-critical analysis).    

Many clients are asking whether the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ban has gone into effect and, if not, what the status is currently.  As we reported previously, the FTC enacted a nationwide ban on most non-compete agreements, subject to certain narrow exceptions, that was anticipated to take effect on September 4, 2024.  Since that time, however, multiple court challenges have been filed, testing the validity of the ban. 
 

OIG posted a partially favorable Advisory Opinion (24-05) permitting a biotechnology company to provide transportation, lodging, and payment of associated expenses for certain patients receiving gene therapy treatments for two severe genetic diseases. In the same Advisory Opinion, however, OIG responded unfavorably to the Company’s proposal to subsidize some or all costs related to fertility preservation and storage procedures for these same patients. 

Garfunkel Wild’s Andrew Zwerling and Harpreet Kaur will host a webinar addressing the legal and practical implications of job descriptions.

Pharmacy revocations for non-compliance with Medicare Part B and Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics and Supplies enrollment requirements are on the rise. Garfunkel Wild’s latest webinar in our Compliance Webinar Series discusses common risks and provides strategies to protect your pharmacy.