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2019 Qualified Plan Cost of Living Increases, 2019 Social Security Taxable Wage Base

Posted on November 2, 2018 by

On November 1, 2018 the Internal Revenue Service announced the cost-of-living adjustments for the various qualified retirement plan limits. The vast majority of the limits shown below have increased from last year. Qualified Plan Limit Cost-of-Living Adjustments 401(k) and 403(b) elective deferral limit 2018-$18,500 2019-$19,000 $200,000 compensation limit 2018-$275,000 2019-$280,000 $160,000 defined benefit limit 2018-$220,000 […]

CMS Proposes Rule to Ease Compliance Requirements

Posted on October 22, 2018 by

Last month, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a proposed rule designed to, in CMS’s words, “relieve burden on healthcare providers by removing unnecessary, obsolete or excessively burdensome Medicare compliance requirements for healthcare facilities”.  CMS estimates that the annual savings to healthcare providers would be $1.2 billion. The proposed rule is some […]

The Wisconsin Homestead Exemption

Posted on September 25, 2018 by

Farmers may have wondered how a neighbor or someone else filing bankruptcy can keep his or her house. The answer is exemptions. Exemptions are assets that can be kept from unsecured creditors. The Wisconsin Legislature didn’t want debtors on the street with no assets so it created exemptions. The Wisconsin homestead exemption allows a debtor […]

OIG Opinion on Donation of Telehealth Equipment

Posted on September 5, 2018 by

A recent Advisory Opinion (Advisory Opinion 18-03) from the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the Department of Health and Human Services addresses potential kickback issues involved in the donation of telehealth equipment.  The OIG has issued opinions addressing technology donation in the past, but not directly involving telemedicine and not involving services that were […]

Hospital Program for Free Support Services for Caregivers – Approved by OIG

Posted on August 30, 2018 by

A recent Office of Inspector General (OIG) advisory opinion approved a proposal under which a hospital has established a caregiver center that provides or arranges for free or reduced-cost support services to caregivers in the local community (Arrangement).  The OIG, basing its opinion on the facts provided, concluded that it would not impose sanctions even […]

Attorney John Fisher Recognized as a Top Author for the 2018 JDSupra Readers’ Choice Awards

Posted on August 7, 2018

Ruder Ware is pleased to announce Attorney John Fisher has been recognized as a Top Author for the 2018 JDSupra (JDS) Readers’ Choice Awards for both Healthcare and Compliance.  In the “Healthcare” category, Fisher ranked fifth; in the “Compliance” category, Fisher ranked seventh. Fisher was one of 240 writers selected amongst 50,000 authors who contributed […]

Is Your Website Accessible to Individuals with Disabilities?

Posted on July 30, 2018 by

Many are unaware that the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) applies to websites as well as physical facilities. A review of court dockets around the country shows that plaintiffs are filing an increasing number of lawsuits against companies alleging that their websites are not “accessible” to individuals with disabilities as required by the ADA. In […]

Attendance at Work May Not Be An Essential Function of a Job

Posted on July 25, 2018 by

There have been a lot of court cases over the years that have acknowledged that attendance at work is a critical (and logical) essential function of someone’s job.  A recent decision by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has raised a caution about this conclusion.  In its decision, the Court of Appeals reversed a summary […]

Employee Use of Company E-mail May be Protected from Company View

Posted on July 25, 2018 by

Companies have always taken the position that an employee’s use of company e-mail is not private, and can be accessed and reviewed by the company at any time.  There have been a large number of court cases, which have held that a company that has issued a policy, stating that private use of company e-mail […]

Will Parents’ Long-Term Care Costs Sink the Farm?

Posted on July 11, 2018 by

Problems can result when parents maintain ownership of a farm but need long-term health-care services from an assisted-living facility or nursing home. Expenses associated with long-term care can jeopardize a farm business if not properly managed ahead of time. There’s a common situation attorneys encounter when helping farm families with farm legal matters. Although parents […]