Crowell & Moring has issued its Litigation Forecast 2018: What Corporate Counsel Need to Know for the Coming Year.”

 The health care section of the Forecast, “FCA Enforcement: Different, But Still Here,” outlines how health care companies should expect continued enforcement of the False Claims Act, but with perhaps different emphasis

First 100 Days LogoOn Tuesday, April 18, 2017, our Health Care Group will hold a webinar on the health care policy and transition challenges still at play as the Trump Administration nears the end of its 100 days in power.  During the webinar, participants will hear important insights and predictions on what a Trump-led Executive Branch will mean

On June 23, Crowell & Moring and Accenture co-hosted the Fostering Innovative Digital Health Strategies Conference in Crowell’s D.C. office. The conference provided a broad analysis of the business and legal issues that must be addressed as health care organizations and technology companies consider innovative strategies to use digital health technologies. The conference covered several topics including trends in the health care economy’s Internet of Things, setting up digital health platforms, legislative activity related to telehealth, and the use of digital health technology to support new payment models.

The fifth session of the conference, “New Payment Models and New Sources of Data for Care Coordination and Quality Improvement” featured John Brennan (Partner, Crowell & Moring), Dr. Elizabeth Raitz-Cowboy (Southeast Medical Director, Aetna Life Insurance Company), Barbara Ryland (Senior Counsel, Crowell & Moring), and Soph Sophocles (Associate General Counsel, Biogen).

The discussion addressed changes and themes in the wake of digital health technology and growing use of data. Key takeaways from the session:Continue Reading New Payment Models and Data: Changes and Themes to Watch

On Tuesday July 12, 2016, the Senate Finance Committee (“Committee”) will hold a hearing on “Examining the Stark Law: Current Issues and Opportunities.” Crowell & Moring Partner Troy Barsky will be testifying before the Committee as a Stark Law subject matter authority.

In advance of this hearing, the Committee released last week the white paper “Why Stark, Why Now? Suggestions to Improve the Stark Law to Encourage Innovative Payment Models.”  Amid growing support for Stark law reform, the white paper deems the Stark law, as currently drafted, both an impediment to implementing health care reform, e.g., the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (“MACRA”), and of limited value given shifts from fee-for-service to alternative payment models that reward quality health care rather than the volume of services.

The white paper focuses predominantly on modifications to the Stark law that would remove obstacles to implementing health care reform. After a roundtable held in December, 2015, that was co-moderated by Troy Barsky, the Committee had solicited and received a range of stakeholder comments that proposed various Stark law reform solutions: repeal the law in its entirety; repeal the compensation arrangement prohibitions; implement new exceptions and modify existing exceptions; implement new or expand existing waivers; and expand CMS’s regulatory authority pertaining to waivers, exceptions, and advisory opinions. These comments are catalogued and discussed throughout the white paper. The white paper also examined the need to distinguish between technical, e.g. documentation requirements, and substantive violations of the Stark law.  Commenters generally agreed that a separate set of sanctions should apply to technical violations and that such violations should not give rise to False Claims Act exposure.Continue Reading In Advance of Senate Finance Committee Hearing on Stark Law Next Week, the Committee Releases Stark Law White Paper

Crowell & Moring and Accenture co-hosted a conference, “Fostering Innovative Digital Health Strategies,” in late-June. The program aimed to provide a broad analysis of the business and legal issues that must be addressed as health care organizations and technology companies consider innovative strategies to use digital health technologies.

The first session of the conference, “Trends in the Health Care Economy’s Internet of Things,” featured the following distinguished panelists: Zane Burke (president, Cerner); Jodi Daniel (partner, Crowell & Moring); Cheryl Falvey (partner, Crowell & Moring); Melissa Goldstein (assistant director, Bioethics and Privacy Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President); and Kaveh Safavi (senior managing director, Global Health Industry Lead, Accenture).

A series of five videos from the session can be watched below:

Here are key health care Internet of Things (IoT) trends discussed in Session 1:Continue Reading 6 Trends in the Health Care Economy’s Internet of Things

Crowell & Morning  invites you to join us for a half-day of discussions regarding four significant topics affecting the long term care industry. Members of C&M’s Government Affairs and Health Care groups, along with featured speakers from Capitol Hill, federal agencies and trade groups, will lead sessions providing important updates on:

  • Legislation in Congress Affecting the Long Term Care Industry
  • Reimbursement Issues Facing the Long Term Care Industry
  • CMS, Medicare Part D, and Medicaid Issues Facing the Long Term Care Industry
  • Current Operational Issues Facing the Long Term Care Industry

Continue Reading C&M’s Long Term Care Policy Update Event