The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) recently issued Advisory Opinion 26-15 addressing a subscription-based referral management software platform used during hospital discharge planning. OIG concluded that, under the facts presented, the arrangement could generate prohibited remuneration under the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute (“AKS”) because providers paying subscription fees received a competitive advantage in obtaining referrals for federally reimbursable services.
Although advisory opinions apply only to the requesting parties, Advisory Opinion 26-15 reflects OIG’s
Continue Reading Post Acute Update: HHS-OIG Issues Unfavorable Advisory Opinion on Subscription-Based Referral Management Software
Weekly Hospital Real Estate Briefing: Ascension to Purchase Williamson Health for $950M | Bridgepoint to Acquire Kayne Anderson for $1.4B | Hospitals Increase MOB Transactions in 2026
DOJ’s Continued Focus on Medicare and Medicaid Fraud Produces $6.5 Billion Health Care Fraud Takedown
The results of the 2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown (the “Takedown”) were announced on June 23, 2026; the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) charged 455 individuals in connection with alleged health care fraud schemes involving over $6.5 billion in false claims. Ninety of the charged individuals were physicians or other medical professionals.
The Takedown, dating back to 2007, is conducted annually by DOJ, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (“HHS-OIG”), the Federal Bureau
Continue Reading DOJ’s Continued Focus on Medicare and Medicaid Fraud Produces $6.5 Billion Health Care Fraud Takedown
Mandatory Provider-Based Attestations Are Taking Shape: CMS Releases Proposed Implementation Framework
Earlier this year, Congress enacted Section 6225 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 (“CAA”), establishing a new Medicare condition of payment for off-campus hospital outpatient departments beginning January 1, 2028. As discussed in our prior alerts (here and here), the statute generally prohibits Medicare payment for services furnished by an off-campus hospital outpatient department unless the department bills under a separate National Provider Identifier (“NPI”) assigned to that off-campus department, the hospital submits an initial provider-based attestation
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Preparing for New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act: Compliance Considerations for a Growing State-Law Trend
New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act (“MAID Act”), introduced in the New York Senate in January 2025 and amended, in part, by the State Assembly in February 2026, will take effect on August 5, 2026, creating a new statutory pathway for qualifying terminally ill adults to request and self-administer medication to end their lives. The MAID Act is part of a broader national trend toward laws commonly referred to as “death with dignity” or “physician-assisted dying” laws.
HHS’s Operation TrialBlazer
On Monday, June 22, 2026, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) announced Operation TrialBlazer, a coordinated department-wide initiative aimed at promoting clinical research leadership and engagement in the United States. The initiative emphasizes the growth of early-stage clinical research overseas, with HHS acknowledging the threat to “America’s position as a global leader.” See Operation TrialBlazer, HHS Roadmap to Maintaining U.S. Leadership in Early Clinical Research and Development, Executive Summary p. 2-3.
HHS indicated that Operation TrialBlazer
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CMS Proposes Significant Changes Impacting Provider Enrollment Including Provider/Supplier Billing Privileges
Buried in the July 1, 2026, proposed rule for the Home Health Prospective Payment System (“Proposed Rule”), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) proposed changes to provider enrollment and a provider’s ability to obtain and maintain Medicare billing privileges. Notably, the changes to provider enrollment regulations at 42 CFR Part 424, Subpart P affect every Medicare-enrolled provider and supplier.
Revocation and Denial Updates Applicable to All Medicare Providers and Suppliers
CMS is proposing several provider enrollment provisions
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Weekly Hospital Real Estate Briefing: A Flurry of Legislation Restricting Hospital Real Estate Transactions – What You Need to Know
Following a series of hospital sale-leaseback transactions that preceded bankruptcy filings in 2024 and 2025, lawmakers at both the federal and state levels have taken notice. In response, legislators have introduced measures aimed at regulating, or increasing oversight of, certain health care real estate transactions.
These efforts seek to protect community hospitals from transactions that may weaken their finances, shift disproportionate value to private-sector investors or jeopardize access to essential services by saddling providers with long-term lease obligations.
OhioHealth Settlement Signals Growing Antitrust Risk in Managed Care Contracting
In two recent civil antitrust complaints, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) alleged that hospital systems used payer contracting provisions—so‑called steering restrictions that require hospitals to be included in nearly all of an insurer’s commercial networks at the most favored level of benefits—to restrict health insurers’ ability to offer narrow network plans, tiered network plans or other insurance plans that give its members financial incentives to use specific network providers. DOJ brought these actions under
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OIG Issues RFI on Anti-Kickback Statute Safe Harbors for Clinical Trial Participant Remuneration – Comments Due August 24, 2026
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) has issued a meaningful Request for Information (“RFI”) seeking stakeholder input on potential new or modified Anti-Kickback Statute (“AKS”) regulatory safe harbors and Beneficiary Inducements Civil Monetary Penalty (“CMP”) exceptions for remuneration to clinical trial participants. The RFI was published as part of HHS’s Operation TrialBlazer, a coordinated department-wide initiative aimed at promoting clinical research leadership and engagement in the United States, including a push
Continue Reading OIG Issues RFI on Anti-Kickback Statute Safe Harbors for Clinical Trial Participant Remuneration – Comments Due August 24, 2026
Weekly Hospital Real Estate Briefing: Tulane Advances $500M Charity Hospital Redevelopment | El Camino Health Plans $1B Hospital Rebuild | Dallas Hospital District Gets $225M Investment
Multiple Sclerosis and the Difficult Road to Long-Term Disability Benefits
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic medical condition that is characterized by brain fog, fatigue, muscle weakness, and many other debilitating symptoms that limit a person’s ability to function on a daily basis1. For many people living with MS, the hardest part can often be the uncertainty that follows. While symptoms can vary from person to person, these symptoms can often make sustained employment difficult. When that happens, employer-provided short- and long-term disability benefits plans may be necessary to
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ME/CFS and Long-Term Disability Benefits: Understanding the Legal Challenges
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is a serious medical condition that is characterized by severe fatigue, post-exertional malaise, sleep disturbances, and a range of other debilitating symptoms that can severely limit a person’s ability to work and participate in normal activities1. Unfortunately, those living with ME/CFS often have the difficult reality of proving the disabling effects of a condition that may not be noticeable to others in order to receive long-term disability (LTD) benefits.
Because a lot of the
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CMS Announces RAPID Coverage Pathway to Speed Medicare Coverage of New Medical Devices
The Gap Between FDA Authorization and Medicare Coverage
In April 2026, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) announced a proposed initiative, the Regulatory Alignment for Predictable and Immediate Device (“RAPID”) pathway, intended to expedite Medicare coverage of certain Class II and Class III devices that have received Breakthrough Device designation and are pursuing FDA market authorization while engaging with CMS. Under RAPID, CMS aims to issue a proposed National
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Indiana Court of Appeals Upholds Grave-Disability Finding Based on Pattern of Mental Health Deterioration
The Indiana Court of Appeals (“the Court”) affirmed a temporary commitment order after finding clear and convincing evidence that a patient was gravely disabled because of mental illness. Rejecting the patient’s argument that medication noncompliance, denial of his diagnosis and temporary homelessness were insufficient to establish grave disability, the Court emphasized the totality of the circumstances. The record showed repeated psychiatric hospitalizations, abandonment of outpatient treatment, longstanding medication noncompliance, delusional beliefs and conduct demonstrating a substantial impairment in judgment
Continue Reading Indiana Court of Appeals Upholds Grave-Disability Finding Based on Pattern of Mental Health Deterioration
What is Long Term Care?
When a loved one begins to need help with daily activities, families often face difficult decisions about care. Long-term care is not limited to nursing homes—it includes a wide range of services that help individuals manage daily living when age, illness, disability, or cognitive decline makes independent living difficult.
Long-term care may include help with bathing, dressing, eating, mobility, toileting, medication management, meal preparation, and supervision for individuals with memory loss or cognitive impairment. 
For many families, staying at
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