Health Law Advisor

In a matter emphasizing the importance of neutral hiring policies, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has affirmed summary judgment in favor of a Kentucky hospital system that refused to hire two nurses who had restrictions on their professional licenses after they participated in a state-approved drug rehabilitation program.  The nurses alleged the refusal to hire decisions violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, but the Sixth Circuit held that the evidence showed the hospital had a neutral practice of denying employment to nurses with current or previous ...

[caption id="attachment_2360" align="alignright" width="206"] Nathaniel M. Glasser and Daniel C. Fundakowski[/caption]

Last month, in United States ex rel. Helfer v. Associated Anesthesiologists of Springfield, Ltd., No. 3:10-cv-03076 (N.D. Ill. Jan. 14, 2016), the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois held that the retaliation provision of the False Claims Act (“FCA”) requires a whistleblower to show that protected activity was the “but-for” cause of the alleged adverse action.

The FCA’s retaliation provision entitles an employee to ...

On Monday, the World Health Organization ("WHO") declared the rise in birth defects linked to the Zika virus outbreak a public health emergency, marking only the fourth time that the WHO has made such a declaration. This announcement by the WHO underscores the seriousness of the Zika virus outbreak and, hopefully, will pave way for a coordinated and well-funded global response to this serious public health problem that may include intensified mosquito control efforts, expedited creation of a more rigorous diagnostic test to detect the virus, and development of a preventive ...

2016 is poised to be a major year in network adequacy developments across public and private insurance markets.  Changes are ahead in the Medicare and Medicaid managed care programs, the Exchange markets and the state-regulated group and individual markets, including state-run Exchanges.  The developing standards and enforcement will vary significantly across these markets.

Through 2014 and 2015, major news stories discussed concerns over the growing use of narrow provider networks by issuers on the Affordable Care Act's insurance exchanges ("Exchanges").  Others reported on ...

In December 2015, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released new guidance for job applicants and employees with HIV infection that is particularly applicable to employers in the health care industry.  This guidance is applicable not only to applicants and current employees with HIV infection, but also to physicians and other health care providers who treat individuals with HIV infection to the extent their assistance is requested in obtaining workplace accommodations.

The first publication, “Living with HIV Infection: Your Legal Rights in the Workplace ...

The United States District Court for the District of New Mexico recently dismissed a lawsuit filed by an employee who was fired after testing positive for marijuana despite using medical marijuana as permitted by New Mexico state law.  In finding that the employer did not violate New Mexico law or public policy, the court’s decision mirrors the holdings in similar cases from California, Colorado, Michigan, Montana, Oregon, and Washington holding that employers have no duty to accommodate medical marijuana use by employees.

In the New Mexico case, the employee applied for a ...

Hospital-physician practice acquisitions represent a large segment of the very active healthcare mergers and acquisitions market, which will likely continue in 2016.[1]  In New York, an acquiring hospital often forms a new professional corporation owned by one or more hospital-based physicians to acquire the business and operations of a group physician practice in an asset purchase. The acquiring hospital will be able to exercise a level of management and control over the new professional corporation, often referred to as a "captive PC", through a contractual arrangement with ...

On December 14, 2015, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas denied the Texas Medical Board's ("TMB") motion to dismiss an antitrust lawsuit brought by Teladoc, one of the nation's largest providers of telehealth services.[1]  Teladoc sued the TMB in April 2015, challenging a rule requiring a face-to-face visit before a physician can issue a prescription to a patient.  Following two recent Supreme Court cases stringently applying the state action doctrine, this case demonstrates the latest of the continued trend where state-sanctioned boards of market ...

On December 23, 2015, the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) released draft guidance on the Advancement of Emerging Technology Applications to Modernize the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Base. This was a positive step towards helping pharmaceutical companies invest and implement emerging technologies that improve overall drug quality.

Pharmaceutical companies have spent millions of dollars issuing recalls for products because of a variety of quality issues caused by outdated manufacturing technologies. These issues have caused significant delays in providing ...

As 2015 winds down, I think it is safe to say that it has been a whirlwind year in telehealth.  According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), over 200 telehealth-related bills were introduced in 42 states.  The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) has launched an interstate physician licensure compact that creates a new pathway to expedite physician licensure in multiple states.  Twelve states (with Wisconsin being the latest) have so far enacted the licensure compact.  Many states such as Colorado, Iowa, and Louisiana released regulations or policies that in ...