Epic, the magazine of the Georgia College of Emergency Physicians, publishes Lee Little’s article, Georgia Certificate of Need Law Facing Multiple Challenges in their Fall issue.
Little Health Law Blog
ACP Report Considers Patient Care Ramifications of Continued Growth of Concierge and Direct Pay Medical Practices
The American College of Physicians (ACP) recently released an informative policy position paper that assesses how “concierge” and similar direct pay health care arrangements between doctors and patients impact patient care. Our Georgia business and healthcare law firm follows developments in the healthcare industry that affect physicians, medical practices and…
ACA Open Enrollment Season: Answers to Consumer Frequently Asked Questions
Open Enrollment Season for federal and state exchanges offering insurance coverage in the “Health Insurance Marketplace” for 2016 began this month, and will run through January 31, 2016. During this period, individuals may newly enroll with, renew or change their health insurance plans or providers. In fact, more than 543,000…
HHS Lauds Savings Opportunities Available to American Consumers with ACA November 1, 2015 Open Enrollment
The United States Department of Health & Human Resources (HHS) is promoting what it styles as “affordability and choice” in the Health Insurance Marketplace used by US consumers to buy health insurance mandated by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Tomorrow, the Open Enrollment Period for shopping health insurance coverage within…
Prosecutors Investigate Pharmaceutical Drug Pricing Practices
Exorbitant inflation of the price of prescription medication is a lingering concern for U.S. patients unable to afford to pay for the medication they need. According to a 2013 study by Walgreens, four out of ten senior citizens delay prescription refills or skip doses to save money. The recent dramatic…
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals: A violation of AKS or Stark Law cannot be used to prove state law claims against a competitor for statutory unfair competition and common law
This litigation involves claims of unfair competition and tortious interference under nine different states’ laws, where the claims are based, in part, upon alleged violations of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS), 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(b), and Stark law (“Stark”), 42 U.S.C. § 1395nn(a). Our Georgia business and healthcare law firm…
Will Employee Flexible Spending Accounts Be Eliminated Under Looming ACA Tax?
Many employers planning ahead as to their employee health benefit plans are considering modifying or eliminating employee flexible spending accounts (FSAs), according to an article this week in the Atlanta Business Chronicle. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) will begin to tax high-cost employer health insurance at 40 percent on benefits…
The Continuing Trend of Physician Employment
A recent survey by search agency The Medicus Firm shows steady continuation of the national trend toward employment of physicians. In representing employers and employees, our Georgia physician practice law firm follows physician employment trends and issues. According to the Medicus survey results, the vast majority of physicians hired in…
Majority of Georgia Hospitals Face Medicare Penalties
About two-thirds of Georgia hospitals can expect to be fined for excessive Medicare readmissions, according to a recent article in the Atlanta Journal. According to our Georgia business and healthcare law firm’s research, this places Georgia hospitals well above the national average of 54% of hospitals facing similar fines. The…
FRAUD DOESN’T PAY: HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS BEWARE CIVIL MONETARY PENALTIES LAW
Physicians and other healthcare providers and businesses who seek to stay in the center of the court and avoid fraud allegations often inquire of our Georgia business and healthcare law firm about the applicability of STARK (civil statute) or the Federal Anti-kickback (criminal) statute to particular circumstances or transactions. While…