In a Special Open Commission Meeting held this afternoon, the Federal Trade Commission voted to approve the final rule to ban non-compete agreements for for-profit businesses, the effective date of such ban being in 120-days. Important items of note with the final rule: This rule only applies to for-profit businesses, as is within the scope of the FTC’s jurisdiction. The effective date for this new rule is in 120-days. New noncompete agreements are banned for all workers as of the effective date. Existing noncompete agreements may remain in effect for senior executives. Existing noncompete ag ..read more

The Federal Trade Commission has announced that it will be holding a Special Open Commission Meeting on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, at 2pm EST regarding the rule to ban non-compete agreements (read the announcement here). The expectation for this meeting is that the FTC will disclose the proposed final rule followed by remarks by the FTC chair and will conclude with a Commission vote on the proposed final rule. This Open Commission Meeting follows the proposed rule in January 2023 (available here) that proposed banning most employers from imposing non-compete agreements on their employees. This p ..read more

The Allegheny County Medical Society has reported that the Pennsylvania House of Representatives has passed a bill to bar non-compete agreements in healthcare employment.  Click here for a copy of the Press Release, and a copy of the legislation.  There are limitations: The bill is effective immediately for new restrictive covenant only after current license renewal It allows undefined liquidated damages It provides exemption for counties with populations of less than 50,000 It now goes to the Pennsylvania Senate ..read more

“On February 21, 2024, Change Healthcare, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group was the victim of the most significant cyberattack on the US healthcare system in American history.  Change Healthcare is the predominant source of more than 100 critical functions that keep the healthcare system operating.” –American Hospital Association Letter March 4, 2024 This hack was first reported by the Wall Street Journal on February 23, 2024, in an article entitled “Hospitals and Pharmacies Reeling After Change Healthcare Attack”.  The Wall Street Journal further reported on March 1, 2024 in an a ..read more

Penn State Health has agreed to pay $11,712,336 to settle allegations of civil liability from submitting improper claims to Medicare for Annual Wellness Visit services. DOJ Press Release Link Penn State Health has voluntarily disclosed that between December 2015 and November 2022 claims were submitted to Medicare for Annual Wellness Visit services that were not supported by the medical record. Once the improper claims were discovered, Penn State Health promptly took corrective action and disclosed the matter to the United States Attorney’s Office ..read more

In furtherance of the National Cybersecurity Strategy announced March 2023, HHS has released an Introduction to the Strategy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for Healthcare Sector Cybersecurity.  Click here for the PDF ..read more

When negotiating physician compensation issues, hospitals frequently rely upon the premise they must pay fair market value compensation in order to comply with the provisions of the Stark Act prohibiting referrals in exchange for compensation, and sometimes non-profit inurement issues. Although the prohibitions are clear, determining what constitutes fair market value is often not.  Provisions allegedly enforcing fair market value by limiting compensation to the 75th percentile of some national study are clearly inapplicable; obviously, somebody is legitimately being paid in the top quart ..read more

CMS issued the Final Rule for the 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) on November 2, 2023, for payments to be effective on or after January 1, 2024. Fee Schedule Link The overall payment rates under the PFS will be reduced by 1.25% in calendar year 2024. The final PFS conversion factor will be $32.74, which is a decrease of 1.15 of dollar and 15% (or 3.4%) from the 2023 conversion factor of $33.89 ..read more

As reported earlier in the MedLaw Blog (August 9, 2023), a federal District Court vacated portions of the No Surprises Act federal regulations.  Thereafter, CMS halted the arbitration process for resolving disputes regarding out-of-network surprise bills. On October 20, 2023, HHS, Treasury, and the US Office Personnel Management submitted a notice indicating their attempt to file a consolidated appeal in the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, challenging the August decision in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas ..read more

As Mike Cassidy and Adam Appleberry discussed during their presentation at PBI’s A Day in Health Law earlier this month, private equity’s involvement in healthcare will be an interesting item to watch over the next few years. Just last week, the FTC sued the U.S. Anesthesia Partners, Inc. and their private equity backer Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, alleging a “multi-year anticompetitive scheme to consolidate anesthesia practices in Texas, drive up the price of anesthesia services provided to Texas patients, and increase their own profits.” (Click here to read the article) Private equit ..read more