Hall Render is pleased to announce that David Stoltzfus has joined the Firm as a Shareholder in its Washington, D.C. office.
Dave is a health care antitrust attorney who advises hospitals, health systems, physicians and other providers on federal and state antitrust matters affecting transactions, investigations and business operations. He represents clients in mergers and other civil antitrust matters before the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice and counsels organizations on the application of antitrust laws…
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On April 14, 2026, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) published the Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2027 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (“IPPS”) Proposed Rule (the “Proposed Rule”), which can be found here. Among other things, the Proposed Rule would make updates to Graduate Medical Education (“GME”) policies for teaching hospitals under the Medicare program. These updates include (i) modifications to the criteria by which a program is deemed a “new program” for Medicare funding purposes; (ii) clarification…
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AI-generated impersonation is real, and it’s a problem. No question.

The legal challenge is identifying existing bodies of law to support claims and provide meaningful remedies. Copyright? Contract? Unfair competition? Privacy? Publicity? Kind of, but none of those fit the facts very well. All are like forcing a round peg into a square hole.

Recently, celebrities have started filing applications for US trademark registration to see if trademark…maybe…could be useful on this front. That’s all it is: a “maybe.”…
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ArticleAmundsen Davis Intellectual Property AlertMay 14, 2026Intellectual property shapes how businesses develop new products, protect their brands, and compete in crowded markets. Every April 26, World Intellectual Property Day celebrates the power of human creativity and this year’s theme—“IP and Sports: Ready, Set, Innovate!”—highlights how intellectual property drives progress across the global sports industry. From patented equipment to iconic team branding and the media that brings games to life, IP strategies that serve as the…
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ArticleAmundsen Davis Transportation AlertMay 14, 2026In a unanimous decision issued May 14, 2026, the Supreme Court of the United States held that negligent hiring/selection claims against freight brokers are not preempted by the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (FAAAA). In Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC, the Court ruled that state law negligent hiring/selection claims fall within the FAAAA’s “safety exception,” which preserves state authority over safety matters “with respect to motor vehicles.” The Court concluded…
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Claims Against Freight Brokers

CMS is imposing a six-month nationwide moratorium on new Medicare enrollment for hospices and home health agencies in a sweeping effort to combat fraud.

Effective immediately, CMS will not process new Medicare enrollment applications or certain changes in majority ownership for hospices and home health agencies across the country for the next six months. This action is designed to prevent fraudulent providers from entering the Medicare program and to disrupt schemes that exploit vulnerable beneficiaries and taxpayer funds. Existing…
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My examination of economic trends has been sparse of late given my workload. But, current economic news, as most people are reading, is not good. Examining that news up close paints an even worse picture.
As Jake in Wisconsin has been pointing out for some time, job market trends started declining in 2025 and then nose dived in early 2026. Along with the downward job estimates in early 2026, these reports coincided with major revisions to the…
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Prenuptial agreements, also known as Marital Property Agreements, have become increasingly popular before couples marry. Postnuptial agreements are also an option during marriage. These agreements are used to specify how you and your partner want your assets held during the marriage and what happens to those assets in the event of divorce or death when you want to do something different than what the law would otherwise provide for. Understanding the law and future financial choices helps you both…
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The Wisconsin Court of Appeals yesterday affirmed the conviction of Kimberly Zapata, who unsuccessfully urged the court to overturn her convictions for voter fraud and public-office misconduct, arguing she was a whistleblower.

A unanimous jury convicted Zapata in March 2024. The charges included one count of felony misconduct in public office and three misdemeanor counts of making a false statement to obtain or vote an absentee ballot.

Milwaukee Circuit Court Judge Kori Ashley sentenced Zapata to nine months in…
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Indiana Medicaid’s effort to rein in Applied Behavior Analysis (“ABA”) therapy costs has led to a proposed moratorium on provider enrollment. On May 7, 2026, the Indiana Health Coverage Programs (“IHCP”) announced it is seeking approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) to implement the statewide provider enrollment moratorium, beginning June 6, 2026, for both new ABA therapy group enrollments, as well as changes of ownership for existing ABA therapy agencies. If approved, the moratorium will…
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On May 13, 2026, as part of its ongoing effort to address home health and hospice fraud, the Trump administration announced a 6-month moratorium on new Home Health and Hospice enrollment, effective immediately. The federal register notice for home health and hospice is set to be published on May 15, 2026. In general, the moratorium will not impact the following providers:

  • Newly enrolling home health and hospice agencies that submitted their Medicare applications prior to May 13, 2026;
  • Changes

…
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On April 29, 2026, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA” or the “Agency”) issued a Request for Information (“RFI”) seeking stakeholder input on a proposed pilot program evaluating the use of artificial intelligence (“AI”) to optimize early-phase clinical trials.
The initiative is intended to assess how AI-enabled technologies “can improve efficiency, speed and quality of decision-making” in Phase I and early Phase II clinical trial development, including through enhanced patient selection, dose optimization, safety monitoring and earlier go/no-go…
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On April 28, 2026, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) announced additional steps in its ongoing initiative to advance real-time clinical trial approaches, including proof-of-concept studies and a request for information supporting a planned pilot program focused on real-time or near-real-time clinical trial data capture and review (the “Announcement”).
FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, M.D., M.P.H., stated:
“For 60 years, we’ve been conducting clinical trials in the same way, where key data signals can take years to reach the…
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The registration of all-terrain vehicles (“ATV”) and utility terrain vehicles (“UTV”) in Wisconsin has steadily increased in recent years. A comprehensive study conducted by Daniel Lee Consulting LLC indicated that among Wisconsin residents, nearly 380,000 ATV/UTV registrations were issued in 2023 alone. This figure included only recreational licenses/registrations (not commercial), further illustrating the continued growth in recreational ATV/UTV use. These recreational vehicles are being used more and more on Wisconsin’s trails and roads. Being educated about the law that…
Continue Reading ATVs & UTVs in Wisconsin: Considerations for Municipalities

Wisconsin’s Unreasonable Refusal to Rehire Statute: A Costly Trap for EmployersAll Wisconsin employers know the basics of the state’s workers’ compensation statute. If an employee is hurt on the job, they may be entitled to benefits under workers’ compensation insurance.
However, many don’t realize that if they fail to bring the employee back to work when suitable employment is available, the employer may be exposed to liability in the form of paying the employee up to one year of…
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Employers

At some point in every organization, legal feedback arrives at the wrong moment. The team is close to launch, a deal is almost across the line, and then counsel comes back with redlines, qualifiers, replacement language, and things that cannot be said the way they were written. 

It lands as interruption. The work was moving, a decision had been made, and suddenly that decision is open again. The concerns may be completely valid, but they can still feel like they belong…
Continue Reading Legal Gets Lighter When It Becomes Infrastructure