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On September 9, 2026, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) circulated proposed revisions to its consent-revocation rules under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) docketed for consideration at the FCC’s September 30, 2026, Open Meeting. If adopted substantially as proposed, these revisions generally would become effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register and would supersede the January 2027 effective date of the FCC’s twice-delayed nuclear-revocation ruling. The FCC will identify a specific effective date once that information becomes…
Continue Reading TCPA Update: FCC Seeks to Overhaul Consent Revocation Rules

The Trump administration continues to pursue regulatory reform initiatives across the health care sector. A proposed Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) rule affecting Medicare-participating providers, including skilled nursing facilities, is currently under review by the Office of Management and Budget, a key step before publication. The proposal appears consistent with prior CMS efforts to reduce administrative burden and streamline provider requirements, including the agency’s 2019 “Patients Over Paperwork” initiative.

At this stage, the details of the proposal…
Continue Reading Skilled Nursing Update: CMS Deregulatory Effort for Skilled Nursing Facilities at OMB

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (“DHS”) recently announced that it is extending the current civil rights compliance period for recipients of federal financial assistance through DHS. Under the extension, the current compliance period, which began January 1, 2022, will now remain in effect through December 31, 2028, rather than expiring on December 31, 2026. The next compliance period will begin on January 1, 2029.

As a reminder, organizations that receive federal financial assistance through DHS programs, including Medicaid,…
Continue Reading Wisconsin Extends Civil Rights Compliance Period Through 2028

The Indiana Department of Health (“IDOH”) has issued a second public comment notice regarding its proposed amendments to Indiana’s Residential Care Facility (“RCF”) regulations. The proposal, first published earlier this year, would significantly expand resident rights, incorporate federal Home and Community-Based Services (“HCBS”) concepts into Indiana assisted living regulations and establish a new eviction framework governing involuntary resident removals. See our alert on the first published notice here.

While the second notice includes a few limited technical revisions…
Continue Reading Indiana Assisted Living Update: IDOH Recasts Its HCBS-Based Resident Rights Proposal in Second Residential Care Facility Rulemaking Notice

Over the last year or so, two points of federal cannabis reform have been in the news: (1) shifts in Congressional policy around the federal treatment of hemp (see Collin’s earlier post here for more) and (2) the Executive Branch effort to move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act (more details in my earlier post, as well as the subsequent December 2025 Executive Order and corresponding rulemaking). Both efforts have seen…
Continue Reading Hurry Up and Wait: More Federal Speedbumps for Federal Hemp and Marijuana Regulation 

The U.S. Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) and the IRS recently proposed regulations that would deny § 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status to private schools that maintain race-based admissions, scholarship or related programs. While the proposal is directed at educational institutions, the preamble contains important lessons for health care foundations and other charitable organizations managing donor-restricted funds.

In discussing the potential impact of the rule, Treasury expressly acknowledges that donor-imposed restrictions may require modification. The preamble notes that where “a race-based…
Continue Reading Health Care Philanthropy Update: Treasury’s Proposed Rule Offers Lessons for Foundations on Donor Intent and Endowment Management

Wisconsin has updated its child labor regulations, prompting employers that hire minors to review their compliance practices.

Effective June 1, 2026, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) implemented Administrative Rule CR 26-015, a comprehensive update to the state’s child labor regulations. The rule revises Chapter DWD 270, repeals Chapter DWD 271, and reorganizes numerous provisions governing the employment of minors and street trades.

Although CR 26-015 does not dramatically change the actual rules governing child labor in Wisconsin,

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Continue Reading Wisconsin Child Labor Law Update: Compliance Considerations for Employers Hiring Minors

The Wisconsin Division of Quality Assurance (“DQA” or the “agency”) recently issued Wisconsin – 26-001, which addresses surveyor access to provider records during assisted living surveys. The guidance applies to Adult Family Homes (“AFHs”), Community-Based Residential Facilities (“CBRFs”) and Residential Care Apartment Complexes (“RCACs”). DQA’s memo confirms that providers utilizing electronic record systems must provide surveyors with read-only login credentials, rather than limiting access to printed records or provider-generated electronic reports.

The memo reflects DQA’s position that surveyors…
Continue Reading Wisconsin Assisted Living Update: Wisconsin DQA Requires Surveyor Access to Electronic Health Records

On August 11, 2026, the Health Resources and Services Administration (“HRSA”) released its Health Center Program Scope of Project Policy Manual (“Scope Manual”), providing comprehensive guidance on what constitutes a health center’s approved scope of project under Section 330 of the Public Health Service Act. The Scope Manual became effective immediately upon release.

Federally Qualified Health Centers (“FQHCs”) and “look-alikes” cannot add a delivery site, new service category or expanded target population without prior approval from HRSA via…
Continue Reading HRSA’s New FQHC Scope of Project Manual Affects Provider-Patient Relationships, Arrangements with Other Providers and 340B Operations

On September 2, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification announced that certain H-2A employers may become responsible for retroactive wage adjustments after the Department adopts a new methodology for calculating Adverse Effect Wage Rates.

The announcement follows an August 26, 2026 order in United Farm Workers, et al. v. DOL, et al., No. 25-cv-01614-KES-EGC. The court held that the DOL’s October 2025 interim-final-rule methodology is unlawful but has left the rule and existing AEWRs…
Continue Reading H-2A Employers Face Potential Backpay Exposure Under Court-Ordered AEWR Changes

On May 20, 2026, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) posted a favorable opinion, AO 26-11, regarding an arrangement in which a precision oncology company (“Requestor”) offers eligible patients undergoing a colorectal cancer screening test (“CRC Screening Test”) a free supplemental report (“Supplemental Report”) to identify risk of other cancer types (the “Arrangement”). Although the Arrangement could generate prohibited remuneration under the Beneficiary Inducements Civil Monetary Penalty Law (“CMP”) and the federal…
Continue Reading When Free Is Permissible: OIG Allows Free Supplemental Cancer Screening Reports for Eligible Patients

On August 27, 2026, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) announced that the moratorium on accepting Medicare supplier enrollment applications for Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (“DMEPOS”) suppliers, which went into effect on February 27, 2026, has expired.

The National Provider Enrollment Contractors are once again accepting initial enrollment applications from DMEPOS suppliers.
Practical Takeaways

  • DMEPOS suppliers seeking to submit applications to CMS should submit as soon as possible before the bidding window opens for

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Continue Reading DMEPOS Supplier Enrollment Opens as Medicare Moratorium Expires

On August 11, 2026, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced a final rule that permanently terminated the Corporate Transparency Act’s (CTA) beneficial ownership reporting requirements for U.S. companies and citizens.

FinCEN also stated that it will delete all information U.S. citizens previously submitted to the beneficial ownership information database.

This development likely marks the end of the CTA’s tumultuous enforcement history.

If you have questions about this update, please contact your Ruder Ware attorney or the article authors,

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Continue Reading Closing Time for the Corporate Transparency Act

Why Protected Concerted Activity Catches So Many Nonunion Employers by Surprise

Many nonunion employers do not expect that they may be one ordinary employee group chat away from a potential National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) issue. The common misconception is that labor law only matters when a union is involved. It doesn’t. As a result, disciplinary decisions that seem routine can quickly become unfair labor practice charges if managers fail to recognize when employees are engaging in protected concerted

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Continue Reading Inside the NLRB: That Employee Group Text Could Create NLRA Liability for Nonunion Employers

On August 4, 2026, the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) on behalf of the Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced it had entered into a $14.1M settlement with Complete Health Partners Holdings (“Complete Health”), a Florida management services organization (“MSO”), to resolve allegations that Complete Health submitted false risk adjustment scores in violation of the False Claims Act. As an MSO, Complete Health provides non-clinical administrative and operational support…
Continue Reading Compliance Program Lessons from the Complete Health Settlement

A recent decision made by the U.S. Court of Appeals in the Fifth Circuit found that OSHA lacked congressional authorization to regulate mental health in the workplace. While the decision does not change workers’ compensation laws or standards for mental injury claims, it raises important questions for employers about how workplace mental health conditions may be evaluated under existing legal frameworks.

Understanding the Different Types of Workers’ Compensation Mental Health Claims
Mental health has a broad definition, but in

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Continue Reading What Employers Should Know About Workers’ Compensation Mental Health Claims After the Fifth Circuit’s Exxon Decision