05/23/13
General
von Briesen Expands Health Law Section
Randall D. Crocker, President and CEO of von Briesen & Roper, s.c., announced that Ralph V. Topinka joined the Health Law Section of the Firm and will be practicing out of the firm's Madison office. Additionally, Patrick J. Cannon recently joined the Health Law Section and will be practicing out of the firm's Milwaukee office.
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04/30/13
OIG Issues Updated Self-Disclosure Protocol
On April 17, 2013, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General ("OIG") issued an updated Provider Self-Disclosure Protocol ("SDP"). The SDP supersedes the OIG's self-disclosure protocol and includes increased clarity in the SDP process, as well as new burdensome requirements for disclosing parties, such as reduced timeframes for internal investigations and reporting.
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04/17/13
Health Law
New Community Health Needs Assessment Proposed Regulations: IRS Adopts Many Provisions of Earlier Guidance and Clarifies Others
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently released a proposed rule implementing the new community health needs assessment (CHNA) requirement for tax-exempt hospital facilities and organizations. Pursuant to health care reform requirements, hospitals must conduct a CHNA once every three years and adopt an implementation strategy. In July 2011, the IRS issued Notice 2011-52 (Notice), which detailed the IRS's anticipated CHNA regulations and solicited comments on the Notice. On June 26, 2012, the IRS issued a proposed rule (2012 Rule) on other new requirements for tax-exempt hospitals in the same section, Section 501(r), of the Internal Revenue Code as the CHNA provisions. The 2012 Rule affects some of the definitions applicable to CHNAs. The new proposed rule (2013 Rule) adopted many of the Notice provisions but also clarified some requirements, added flexibility, and modified some of the definitions in the 2012 Rule.
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04/09/13
Construction Teaming Agreements – For Better or Worse
There is renewed interest in construction teaming relationships. For it is undisputed that construction is inherently risky but carries the potential for great reward. Teaming with the right partner can help the joint venture access profitable new markets and projects otherwise unreachable alone. The right partner can also help a party carry and manage the significant risks and volatility inherent in every project of any size.
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03/04/13
Web and Online Commerce
Protect Your CEO's Tweets and Posts from SEC Enforcement Action
The U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) Enforcement Division altered the jet stream of blogosphere commentary last December by, for the first time, recommending legal action against a CEO on account of a Facebook post. Immediately after the announcement, a blizzard of articles, tweets, and blogs buried the mediascape with opinions about the critical role of CEO social media use in the new economy, the wisdom or foolishness of allowing CEO's to Tweet or post, and whether the SEC should be time warped back to the Stone Age it seems to prefer.
Sweeping away the accumulated hyperbole reveals two important takeaways from the SEC's announcement, applicable to both public and private companies: i) the more things change, the more they remain the same, and ii) this latest "grave threat" to the modern world is not a crisis, but an opportunity. Social media can be a valid, legal, and effective way to communicate with investors, if it's done right.
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02/27/13
Business and Corporate Law
Wisconsin Businesses Targeted by "Annual Minutes" Scam; State of Wisconsin Files Suit
The Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) recently issued a press release cautioning the Wisconsin business community about a company known as Corporate Records Service. The company has been soliciting Wisconsin corporations by mail with a request to complete a "2013-Annual Minutes Form" and to pay the company a fee of $125. The form is mailed in a standard size envelope marked "Important: Annual Minutes Requirement Statement," and requests information about the corporation's shareholders, directors, and officers.
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02/25/13
New Omnibus Rule Catches More Entities in HIPAA Compliance Net
Last month's changes to rules under HIPAA — the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 — require many more businesses to comply with privacy and security obligations. If you directly or indirectly perform services for a health care provider or a health plan, it is imperative that you understand your obligations related to the use, disclosure, maintenance, and destruction of Protected Health Information ("PHI").
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02/19/13
OMG! Am I a BA? Assessing the Impact of Recent HIPAA Changes on Your Business.
• Do you perform any work for health care providers, health plans, or others who provide services to health care entities?
• Do you handle any protected health information (which may be as basic as a patient's name)?
• If so, do you understand what your obligations may be to comply with HIPAA and that a failure to do so could cost you up to $1.5 million per incident?
Recently the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services finalized modifications to HIPAA—the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. Given HIPAA's highly technical nature, it might be tempting to all those not working directly in health care settings to turn a blind eye to these changes. But ignoring the changes could prove to be a costly mistake. The changes expand liability for certain individuals and entities—known as "business associates"—for failure to comply with the privacy and security obligations in HIPAA. Because business associates are now subject to audits, investigations, and enforcement (including penalties up to $1.5 million per violation), it is important to assess whether your business could qualify as a business associate and to plan accordingly.
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01/30/13
HIPAA and Health Information Systems
All Aboard the HIPAA Omnibus: Navigating the New Privacy and Security Regulations
On January 17, 2013, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS") Office of Civil Rights ("OCR") released the long awaited omnibus final rule entitled Modifications to the HIPAA Privacy, Security, Enforcement and Breach Notification Rules under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act; Other Modifications to the HIPAA Rules (the "Omnibus Rule"). The Omnibus Rule consists of four final rules that:
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01/18/13
HIPAA and Health Information Systems
Gun Violence Prompts HHS to Release Letter on Disclosures of Protected Health Information to Avert Threats to Health or Safety
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights ("OCR") issued a letter to health care providers clarifying the providers' ability under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ("HIPAA") Privacy Rule to disclose necessary information about patients to avert threats to health or safety. OCR explained that providers may take action, consistent with ethical standards and other legal obligations, to disclose necessary information about a patient to law enforcement, family members of the patient, or other persons when providers believe the patient presents a serious danger to himself or other people.
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