Kaiser Permanente is notifying 13.4 million current and former members that their personal information may have been compromised when it was transmitted to tech giants Google, Microsoft Bing and X (formerly Twitter) when...more
Medicare Advantage Organizations have come under increased fire as their parent companies continue to acquire more healthcare practices across the country. Experts suggest that this vertical integration has led to inflated...more
The Biden administration is restoring significant state and tribal authority over water resources and expanding their leverage on infrastructure permitting decisions, including for pipelines. With a final rule announced this...more
A California appellate court recently ruled that an employee may pursue claims under California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) that her former employer violated the state’s mandatory paid sick leave law. On...more
Addressing a recent motion to dismiss, the Northern District of California predominantly denied Kaiser Permanente’s (“Kaiser”) motion to dismiss the government’s complaint in United States ex rel. Osinek v. Permanente Medical...more
In a decision issued on September 30, Judge Andrew Carter of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York denied Anthem Inc.’s motion to dismiss a government lawsuit filed in March 2020 claiming Anthem...more
In a September 2022 filing in U.S. ex rel. Osinek v. Kaiser Permanente, the Kaiser Permanente consortium defendants (Kaiser) highlighted the distinction between clinically inaccurate diagnoses (factual falsity) and clinically...more
Despite proclamations of “best and final offer” after the rejected last round of negotiations, the UAW said last Friday that Deere & Co. “had made modifications to an earlier agreement . . . , setting up another vote over...more
A patient sued her health plan and the plan’s debt collector under various California and federal laws in connection with alleged attempts by the plan to unlawfully collect the balances of the plaintiff’s medical statements...more
Stokes v. Muschinske, No. B280116, 2019 WL 1513208 (Cal. Ct. App. Mar. 14, 2019) (awaiting official publication) begs the question, does reference to a plaintiff’s membership in a health care plan, like Kaiser Permanente, or...more
Sustainable Development Focus - L.A. may charge drivers by the mile, adding freeway tolls to cut congestion - LOS ANGELES TIMES - Jan 22 The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is pushing to study how what’s commonly...more
Usually, when a defendant gets a punitive award reduced to the same amount as the compensatory damages, it considers that a victory. But while such a reduction recently saved Johnson & Johnson $15 million, I don’t think that...more
How can a company manage its overtime policy in compliance with California law? A recent decision by a federal district court in California certified a class action involving claims of unpaid overtime, and the court’s...more
On October 19, Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Management Associates hosted a joint briefing to release their 17th Annual 50-State Medicaid Budget Survey for state fiscal years (FY) 2017 and 2018. The survey highlights...more
One thing every Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) will face is multiple stakeholders. The more compliance is operationalized the more sensitized this issue will become. Yet the centralized control that many business leaders have...more
Late last year, more than 1,300 "advice nurses" working at call-in centers providing answers to patient health care questions for Kaiser Permanente and Permanente Medical Group filed a class action lawsuit for unpaid wages...more
Last September, we noted that payers and providers were expected to become increasingly active digital health strategic investors given their challenges to improve margins and outcomes....more
Banner Health and the Kaiser Foundation were recently hit with separate class action lawsuits challenging their denials of certain mental health care coverage...more
House Republicans append a Manager's Amendment to the AHCA; HHS tells states they will have increased flexibility on Medicaid; and Florida previews its 1115 waiver amendment requests....more
We all know how con artists work the streets. One might bump into you in a train or in a crosswalk, while the other grabs your wallet. Or one might smile and chat with a mom at a playground, while her partner nabs the purse....more
The Kansas House sends approved Medicaid expansion legislation to the Senate; governors remain divided on Medicaid reform; and the Kaiser Family Foundation publishes a new library of 108 Medicaid expansion studies....more
Congress moves forward on key healthcare appointments; the Administration takes steps to shore up the Marketplaces; and Governors prepare to gather in Washington as new reports document the ACA's impacts on states....more
In June last year, we outlined the key exclusivity provisions in the 21st Century Cures Act. Then in July 2015, we reported that the House of Representatives passed a form of the Act by a vote of 344-77....more
Sustainable Development Focus - Kaiser Permanente buys 110 MW of solar - Solar Industry Magazine - Nov 10 - Taking another step toward achieving its goal of using 100% renewable energy by 2025, Kaiser...more
In theory, it is not an unfair labor practice to refuse to negotiate with a union engaged in competition with the employer—unless, of course, the employer gave the union other reasons for refusing to negotiate. The...more