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
As the number of patent infringement lawsuits brought by Non-Practicing Entities (NPEs) has increased, oil and gas companies have increasingly become targets…more
On April 29, 2013, CMS issued a proposed rule providing the payment rates and wage index for hospices effective FY 2014. While the proposed rule describes current findings and offers options for consideration, it does not…more
On May 2, 2013, CMS released its proposed FY 2014 inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) PPS rule, which includes a 1.8 percent net market basket update and a 0.2 percent increase for high-cost outlier payments…more
Recently, a Task Force made up of representatives of the American Bankers Association, the Bond Dealers of America, GFOA, the Investment Company Institute, the National Association of Bond Lawyers, the National Federation of…more
On April 18, 2013, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (the “NOPR”) stating that it intends to approve Version 5 of the Critical Infrastructure Protection (“CIP”) Reliability…more
Background -
403(b) retirement plans are similar to 401(k) plans, but the employers who may establish 403(b) plans are limited to public schools, certain tax exempt employers (including religious and charitable…more
