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Defining the Duty of the Board of Directors over Compliance Functions

Posted on March 22, 2017 by

I recently posted a blog article about a document released by the Department of Justice entitled “Evaluation of Compliance Programs.”  As the title of the document might suggest, the DOJ release covers a variety of issues it looks at when evaluating the effectiveness of compliance programs.  The document includes some guidance on how a corporate […]

Wisconsin Unemployment Insurance Benefits Upon Discharge for Absenteeism – the Employer’s Policy May Be More Generous, But Not More Restrictive, Than the Statutory Default

Posted on March 21, 2017 by

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals issued a decision in an unemployment insurance benefits case on March 8 that provides clarity where an employee is discharged for absenteeism.  The case is Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development v. Wisconsin Labor and Industry Review Commission, et al (2017 WL 946724).  In doing so the court of appeals described […]

Excluded Party Cases Dominate OIG Published Self Disclosure Settlements

Posted on March 17, 2017 by

In 2013, the HHS Office of Inspector General issued revised protocols outlining the process through which health care providers are able to self-disclose and resolve potential liability under the OIG’s civil monetary penalty (CMP) authorities.  The 2013 Self Disclosure Protocols (SDP) clarified the process of self-disclosure and provided answers to some of the questions previously […]

2016 Bankruptcy Statistics for the Western District of Wisconsin: Overall Filings Decreased 5.5%, but Chapter 12 Farm Bankruptcies Increased 31%

Posted on March 15, 2017 by

The 2016 bankruptcy statistics tell an interesting story.  While the total number of bankruptcy cases filed in 2016 in the Western District of Wisconsin (“WDW”) fell 5.5% to its lowest level in ten years, Chapter 12 farm bankruptcy cases actually increased 31% from 2015.    Total Filings.  There were 4,362 total bankruptcy cases filed in […]

Physician Practice Compliance Programs

Posted on March 14, 2017 by

In today’s environment of complex regulations, aggressive prosecution, exorbitant penalties, and hungry whistleblower attorneys, it is necessary for medical practices to maintain effective compliance programs.  Failure to do so puts the practice at a great deal of unnecessary risk.  Many or most practices will eventually make errors in their billing and collections or other regulatory […]

Justice Scalia’s Definition of “Waters of the United States” to Become the Law of the Land?

Posted on March 9, 2017 by

On February 28, 2017, Donald Trump signed the “Presidential Executive Order on Restoring the Rule of Law, Federalism, and Economic Growth by Reviewing the ‘Waters of the United States’ Rule.”  This executive order requires the Administrator of the EPA, the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, and other executive department and agency heads […]

Enforcing ASC Exclusion Provisions While Minimizing Legal Risk – Rethinking Strict Application of the Safe Harbors to Exclusion Decisions

Posted on March 3, 2017 by

Many surgery centers are eventually faced with decisions about how to treat investing physicians who do not perform as many procedures in the surgery center as others.  Under performing physicians can create political issues in ASCs because investors who perform more surgeries or higher value procedures at the center feel the other investors are taking […]

Ambulatory Surgery Center Physician Exclusions – Reducing Risk of Forced Redemption of ASC Investment Interests

Posted on March 3, 2017 by

Many surgery centers are eventually faced with decisions about how to treat investing physicians who do not perform as many procedures in the surgery center as others. Under performing physicians can create political issues in ASCs because investors who perform more surgeries or higher value procedures at the center feel the other investors are taking […]

Faster Pace of Interest Rate Hikes

Posted on March 3, 2017 by

As we indicated on February 16, 2017 the Federal Reserve is looking at interest rate hikes for 2017.  At a speech in Chicago today Chairwoman Janet Yellen said it is likely the Federal Reserve will increase the federal funds rate in March, which was most recently increased in December from 0.50% to 0.75%.  The stock […]

Setting Up Your Compliance Internal Reporting Mechanism

Posted on March 3, 2017 by