DOJ scores first victory in criminal antitrust labor market trial -
A federal jury convicted a former home healthcare staffing executive in Las Vegas for orchestrating a three-year wage-fixing conspiracy targeting...more
5/12/2025
/ Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dialysis ,
Dialysis Providers ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Health Care Providers ,
Medical Research ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Advantage ,
Nurses ,
Sherman Act ,
Staffing Agencies ,
Wage-Fixing
On March 12, 2025, the CMS announced its intent to terminate the ESRD Treatment Choices (“ETC”) Model as of December 31, 2025, two years ahead of its original end date....more
As Medicare physician reimbursement continues in 2025 to suffer from damaging shortfalls due to budget neutrality and lack of an inflation adjuster, steps are being taken in Congress to address the issue. On January 31, the...more
3/14/2025
/ Data Breach ,
Dialysis ,
Dialysis Providers ,
Federal Budget ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Medicare ,
Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) ,
Patient Access ,
Physicians ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Trump Administration
A New Hope in Kidney Transplants: The Promise of Xenotransplantation -
Joe’s struggle for a kidney transplant highlights a dire reality: donor shortages are leaving countless patients in limbo. Enter Dr. PK, a pioneering...more
2/14/2025
/ Animal Health ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Clinical Trials ,
Dialysis ,
Dialysis Providers ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Technology ,
Healthcare ,
Innovative Technology ,
Life Sciences ,
Medical Devices ,
Medical Research ,
Organ Transplant Centers ,
Professional Conferences ,
Public Health
Happy New Year and welcome to our 2024 Trade Secret and Restrictive Covenant Year in Review. 2024 was less stressful and dramatic than most people feared at the start of the year, but there still were some significant rulings...more
1/22/2025
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Contract Terms ,
Dialysis ,
Dialysis Providers ,
Final Rules ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Physician Fee Schedule ,
Private Equity ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Trade Secrets
Senators not giving up on reversing CMS physician payment cuts during lame duck session -
Forty-one U.S. Senators from both sides of the aisle are urging the upper chamber’s leadership to allow a bill to be introduced...more
RPA Perspective: 2025 Medicare Fee Schedule and ESRD PPS Final Rules—Highlights for Nephrology -
The final rule for the 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule was released on November 1, and the highlights from the rule...more
11/18/2024
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Dialysis ,
Dialysis Providers ,
ESRD ,
Fresenius ,
Health Care Providers ,
Medical Research ,
Medicare ,
OIG ,
Organ Transplant Centers ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Physician Fee Schedule ,
Physicians ,
Telehealth
The House Ways and Means Committee has postponed discussions on several healthcare bills, including those related to physician pay, due to scheduling conflicts and disagreements over legislative language. This delay affects...more
10/10/2024
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Congressional Committees ,
Dialysis ,
Dialysis Providers ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Medical Devices ,
Medicare ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Physicians ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Qualified Health Plans
As value-based care (VBC) models continue to grow across our nation’s health system and specifically within different specialties like nephrology, the costs and challenges of maintaining these models continue to rise. In...more
8/13/2024
/ Antitrust Investigations ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Dialysis ,
Dialysis Providers ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Kickbacks ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Organ Transplant Centers ,
Physician Fee Schedule ,
Private Equity ,
Spinoffs ,
Value-Based Care ,
Whistleblowers
FTC Investigates Major Dialysis Providers Over Anticompetitive Practices -
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating DaVita and Fresenius Medical Care, the largest U.S. dialysis providers, for potentially using...more
7/16/2024
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Congressional Committees ,
Dialysis Providers ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Government Investigations ,
Health Care Providers ,
Medicare ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Organ Donation ,
Physicians
The future of non-competition agreements remains volatile. Recent actions by the FTC and several states threaten to limit, or even outright ban, these agreements. Such an evolving regulatory landscape requires employers to...more
KCP supports House bill to restore original intent of Medicare Secondary Payer Act -
Kidney Care Partners (KCP) commends the 36 co-sponsors of the bill before the House, who come from both sides of the aisle and represent...more
6/11/2024
/ Class Action ,
Compensation ,
Data Breach ,
Data-Sharing ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Dialysis Providers ,
Health Care Providers ,
Medicare ,
Minimum Wage ,
Organ Transplant Centers ,
PHI ,
Physicians ,
Qualified Health Plans ,
Ransomware ,
Wage and Hour
FTC final rule banning noncompetes grandfathers existing agreements for senior execs -
The FTC voted 3-2 in favor of the final rule, which bans noncompete clauses in employee contracts in most cases. While the rule would...more
Five NJ nephrology practices combine under Northeast Kidney Care banner -
The combined company claims to be the largest independent group of nephrologists in the state, with 26 locations. ...more
DaVita agrees to $2M settlement of class action over retirement plan fees -
The plaintiffs alleged the company failed to properly monitor its $2.6-billion 401(k) and was paying higher-than-necessary administrative fees,...more
NY Governor vetoes noncompete ban bill after opposition from health, business groups -
Kathy Hochul vetoed a bill passed by both houses of the NY legislature in June that would’ve imposed bans of non-compete clauses in...more
1/17/2024
/ Data Breach ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Dialysis ,
Dialysis Providers ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
ESRD ,
Fraud ,
Governor Vetoes ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Lobbying ,
Medicare ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Wage and Hour
Fresenius hiring Ascension Capital exec to head care delivery -
The appointment of Craig Cordola as CEO of the dialysis company’s care delivery segment takes effect Jan. 1. He was at Ascension Capital for the past six...more
11/14/2023
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Dialysis ,
Dialysis Providers ,
ESRD ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hospitals ,
Medicare ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs
Federal Law increases competition in organ procurement, transplant system; NKF, ASN approve -
The President signed the bipartisan bill into law on Sept. 22. The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) was...more
FTC, DoJ propose changes to HSR Act for more effective, efficient merger reviews -
The FTC, along with the Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Division, proposed changes to the premerger notification form and...more
9/8/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dialysis ,
Dialysis Providers ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Medicare ,
Merger Reviews ,
Organ Donation ,
Organ Transplant Centers ,
Partnerships ,
Rural Health Care Providers ,
Startups
NY non-compete ban still receiving pushback as Governor waits to sign off -
While NY Governor Kathy Hochul waits to sign off on one of the country’s toughest bans on non-compete agreements, many lobby groups from the...more
8/7/2023
/ Business Model ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Dialysis ,
Dialysis Providers ,
ESRD ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Medicare ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Organ Donation ,
Organ Transplant Centers ,
Spinoffs
Benesch: NLRB decision overturns use of ‘entrepreneurial opportunity’ super factor for classifying employees -
Benesch explains the labor board’s decision retains the 10-point test to determine who can be considered an...more
Six Main Takeaways from the Benesch Healthcare+ Nephrology & Dialysis Conference.
Experts included Dapo Afolabi, M.D., President and CEO of Fort Worth Renal Group, Terry Litchfield, President of Access Solutions, Jason...more
6/29/2023
/ Ambulatory Surgery Centers ,
Clinical Laboratories ,
Dialysis Providers ,
Enforcement ,
Health Care Providers ,
Medicare ,
Physician Fee Schedule ,
Physicians ,
Professional Conferences ,
Reimbursements ,
Surgical Center Requirements
The shift in health care from a retrospective fee for service (“FFS”) model to a value based care (“VBC”) model is growing across our nation’s health system and different specialties, including nephrology. VBC models in...more
Valuations, and how a business reacts to them, directly impact a business’s ability to complete successful transactions. In the healthcare sector, compliance with federal and state laws against self-referral and kickbacks and...more
6/23/2023
/ Business Valuations ,
Corporate Practice of Medicine ,
Debt Ceiling ,
Dialysis Providers ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
Investors ,
Joint Venture ,
Kickbacks ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Outpatient Services ,
Physicians ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Firms ,
Self-Referral ,
Valuation ,
Value-Based Care
Benesch: MN ban on non-compete agreements includes carveout for business sale, dissolution -
Benesch Law notes the bill only awaits the signature of MN’s Governor and could become law as early as July 1. It would prevent...more
6/9/2023
/ Capital Raising ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Dialysis ,
Dialysis Providers ,
ESRD ,
Fraud ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Medicare ,
No-Poaching ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Organ Donation ,
Organ Transplant Centers ,
Private Equity ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Spinoffs