Alerts

Brazil has made international headlines with an exploding pension crisis that is wreaking havoc on public finances and threatening to take down the economy of Latin America’s biggest country.

There has been no let-up in the push for a final Trans-Pacific Partnership since the accord was signed by the 12-member countries on October 5th. This is especially true in the US, where US Trade Representative Michael Froman said that the agreement will be the template for future trade pacts.

The Department of Justice recently announced that Tuomey Healthcare System has agreed to pay $72.4 million and enter into a five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement to finally resolve the long-running U.S. ex rel., Drakeford v. Tuomey Healthcare System, Inc. False Claims Act/Stark Law litigation.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently reversed a 2014 decision of the National Labor Relations Board prohibiting mandatory arbitration of class or collective actions in employment disputes.

The Federal Trade Commission has lost an important mechanism for privacy and data security enforcement in data flowing across the Atlantic with the invalidation of the Safe Harbor framework, according to Commissioner Julie Brill.

Free trade agreements have a generic template that negotiators follow. After the various “feel good” provisions outlining the lofty objectives of said agreement, the text quickly turns to the nuts and bolts of the negotiations…

US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General released an OIG Alert reminding the public that electronic health records furnished to referral sources may not meet the federal anti-kickback statute’s EHR safe harbor if EHR system has limited or restricted interoperability.

Health care providers and their contractors have been put on notice by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) that the next round of HIPAA compliance audits will begin in early 2016.  The previous round of HIPAA audits was completed in 2014.

Sunday, October 18, 2015 marked the official “Adoption Day” of the July 14, 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

California passed Assembly Bill 60 (AB60) which allows the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue a driver’s license to any person, which could include an undocumented person, who cannot establish their legal presence in the US but otherwise meets licensing requirements to drive a motor vehicle.

The United States District Court for the District of Columbia issued a ruling which could have significant positive implications for those drug manufacturers unhappy with a particular Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration’s interpretive rule.

AB 465, the California bill that sought to eliminate arbitration agreements as a condition of employment and in other settings, was vetoed by Governor Jerry Brown. AB 465 will go back to the House for further consideration and will require a two-thirds vote by both houses to overturn the veto.

The 7th Circuit just denied ERISA rights to medical providers, but this doesn’t have to be the result.

The decision caused international panic and businesses will be asked questions about their data protection practices. It is important to check where Safe Harbor is built into current agreements and evaluate both business-to-consumer and business-to-business relationships.

Over the weekend, negotiators from the US, Canada, Mexico, Japan, and eight Pacific Rim countries agreed to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the largest regional trade accord in history, accounting for more than 40 percent of the global economy.  

These action items will not only put you in a better position when a breach arises, but you will have the right answers when a regulator calls.

On September 21, 2015, the US DOJ and whistleblowers’ counsel announced that Florida-headquartered Adventist Health System (Adventist) had agreed to pay $118.7 million to resolve allegations that it violated the FCA by submitting claims in violation of the Stark law and by miscoding claims.

The Ninth Circuit’s decision is a big win for the NCAA and affirms its amateurism model and remains protected from having to treat college athletes like employees.

The EU’s top court could rule the Safe Harbor framework is ineffective to allow data to flow across the Atlantic and as companies await the Oct. 6 decision, they should consider other options for transfer of data from the EU to the US.

By any standard, these are anxious times. For days, top negotiators from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) have been meeting in San Francisco and Washington, DC and taking up most of the cities’ available hotel rooms.

Has Estee Lauder built such significant brand value that a retailer is doomed if it cannot stock Estee Lauder’s products on its shelves? This is the question Duty Free Americas asked a federal appeals court to once again consider after both the district court and the appeals court said “no.”

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced that Columbus Regional Healthcare System (Columbus Regional) has agreed to pay up to $35 million and enter into a Corporate Integrity Agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.

The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry & Security and the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control released amendments to the Export Administration Regulations and the Cuban Assets Control Regulations to further implement President Obama’s new Cuba policy to ease sanctions.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently vacated a decision by a lower court holding that student registered nurse anesthetists at Wolford College were not employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The US Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights announced a new settlement for $750,000 with Cancer Care Group, P.C. to resolve potential violations of the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules identified as the result of the theft of a laptop and backup media.