On May 15, 2013, the Senate approved Marilyn Tavenner’s nomination to serve as the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Ms. Tavenner had been the Acting Administrator for CMS and had previously…more
The United States District Court for the District of Columbia issued an opinion in Ivy Sports Medicine, Inc. v. Sebelius, a lawsuit filed in May 2011 by ReGen Biologics, Inc. (“ReGen”) against the Food and Drug Administration…more
On May 10, 2013, CMS issued a transmittal clarifying the requirement in Section 637 of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA) that ambulance payments for non-emergency basic life support (BLS) transports for end stage…more
On May 15, 2013, CMS released a funding opportunity announcement for round two of the Health Care Innovation Awards. The grants are administered by the CMS Innovation Center, which is authorized by the Affordable Care Act to…more
On Friday, May 17, 2013, CMS announced that its Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation Center (Innovation Center) is providing an open period for additional organizations to be considered for participation in Model 1 of the…more
Federal Circuit Affirms Commission Determination That Litigation Activities Unrelated To Licensing Do Not Satisfy Domestic Industry – On May 13, 2013, the Federal Circuit affirmed a January 2012 Commission determination that…more
The United States Senate passed the Water Resources Development Act of 2013 by an overwhelming 83-14 margin on May 15, 2013. The legislation included an amendment sponsored by Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Sherrod Brown…more
In the span of less than a week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., a decision concerning the reach of the Alien Tort Statute, and granted certiorari in Bauman v. DaimlerChrysler…more
On May 8, 2013, a jury concluded that Tuomey Healthcare System, Inc. (Tuomey), a community hospital in Sumter, S.C., violated the Stark law for allegedly improper compensation arrangements in 2005 between the hospital and 19…more
On May 8, 2013, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Kathleen Sebelius, announced the posting by the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of hospital-specific charges for the more than 3,000…more
On May 10, 2013, Senators Max Baucus (D-MT) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT)—the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, respectively—issued a letter to the healthcare provider community declaring that “[t]he broken…more
The national nonprofit organization Leapfrog Group (“Leapfrog”) recently released its updated Hospital Safety ScoreSM, a searchable database of patient safety scores for over 2,500 acute care hospitals. The safety scores, which…more
On May 9, 2013, Speaker of the House, John Boehner (R-OH), and Senate Republican Leader, Mitch McConnell (R-KY), sent a letter to President Obama declining to make appointments of individuals to serve on the Individual Payment…more
Recently, a California federal court blocked drilling on certain federal land located in California’s Monterey Shale Formation play. In reaching its decision, the court relied heavily on perceived risks of fracking, holding that…more
Companies should re-examine their approach to additional insured provisions in their business contracts and insurance policies in light of the Fifth Circuit’s recent decision in In re Deepwater Horizon, 710 F.3d 338 (5th Cir…more
