In This Issue:

- IRS ISSUES TRANSITION RELIEF ON THE ONE-YEAR DELAY IN ACA’S INFORMATION REPORTING AND EMPLOYER SHARED RESPONSIBILITY RULES:

On July 9, 2013, the IRS issued Notice 2013-45 which provides additional information regarding the delay in the information reporting and employer shared responsibility provisions of the ACA announced earlier in July. Notice 2013-45 does not provide much in the way of substantive detail other than to confirm the delay in the implementation of these requirements and relief from penalties for not complying with these requirements in 2014...

- THE SUPREME COURT HOLDS HUMAN GENES ARE UNPATENTABLE:

In a unanimous decision written by Justice Thomas, the Supreme Court held that naturally-occurring DNA sequences are unpatentable. The Court has long held that certain subject matter is not patent eligible under 35 USC § 101. Patent exempt subject matter includes laws of nature, natural phenomenon, and abstract ideas. In this case, the Court found that human genes are products of nature. The Court further found that cDNA sequences, which are copies of non intron containing mRNA sequences created in the laboratory, are patent eligible...

- HEALTH INSURERS IN RHODE ISLAND AND WESTERN NEW YORK ARE SUED BY PROVIDERS FOR ALLEGED ANTITRUST VIOLATIONS:

In the last two months, two new antitrust actions have been filed against health insurers that raise interesting issues about an insurer’s obligation to contract with a health care provider that it chooses not to deal with, and whether a refusal to do so can give rise to antitrust liability...

- FTC COMMISSIONER ADDRESSES TENSION BETWEEN THE ACA, ACOs, AND ANTITRUST LAW:

In a recent speech to a healthcare trade group in Washington, Federal Trade Commissioner Julie Brill addressed an issue of concern to many in the healthcare industry—the apparent tension between the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), Accountable Care Organizations (“ACOs”), and antitrust law. As Commissioner Brill acknowledged, critics of the ACA contend that the federal government is speaking “out of both sides of its mouth” when it comes to Accountable Care Organizations and antitrust enforcement. Specifically, they contend that while the ACA is encouraging providers to “collaborate” and “consolidate,” the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) enforcement of antitrust laws seem to impede their ability to do so...

- REMINDER: COMPLIANCE DATES FOR REVISING YOUR BUSINESS ASSOCIATE AGREEMENTS FOR COMPLIANCE WITH THE HIPAA OMNIBUS RULE:

The required compliance dates for revising business associate agreements (“BAA”) between covered entities and business associates, or business associates with subcontractors, respectively, to reflect the new requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) “omnibus” regulations issued on January 17th, 2013 (the “Final Rules”) are approaching.