“I didn’t expect her to be sobbing,” explained my client, telling me they had just called off the sale of a practice to a long-time employee. The would-be buyer of the practice was not the only one disappointed. My client had hoped this sale would create a lasting legacy as the founders retired. Unfortunately, it became obvious that the buyer had not made the necessary arrangements to carry on the practice without interruption, and any closing would be significantly…
Continue Reading What They Don’t Know Can Hurt Them: Serving as Counselor to Independent Providers

Recently, health care professionals are asking a lot of questions about Wisconsin’s new APRN Modernization Act (2025 WI 17), and for good reason. This legislation, which was signed into law Aug. 8, 2025, and goes into effect Sept. 1, 2026, fundamentally changes how Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) can operate in Wisconsin. Attorneys representing health care organizations, medical practices, or handle employment law need to understand what changes are coming. Here is the bottom line: As of…
Continue Reading APRN Modernization: How Attorneys Can Prepare their Health Care Clients

It is well known that Wisconsin’s Medicaid program, like those of all states, plays a ubiquitous role in providing residents access to health care.

Zeke Shen, U.W. 2023, is an attorney with
Hall, Render, Killian, Heath & Lyman, PC in Milwaukee, where he focuses his practice on government reimbursement, general payment practices, operational efficiencies, and regulatory compliance.

Recent data from ForwardHealth places the number of Wisconsinites covered by Medicaid at nearly 1.3 million, amounting to over 20% of…
Continue Reading Proposed House Bill Freezes Provider Tax Revenue: What It Means for Wisconsin Medicaid

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Continue Reading Interacting with Law Enforcement: Reproductive Health Privacy and ICE Enforcement

It happens so easily these days. A nurse at a hospital is trying to be efficient with their shift, so they pull multiple patients’ medications from the Pyxis machine prior to making their evening rounds. A conversation is had with each patient regarding their pain, and medication is administered according to these conversations. This nurse has every intention of documenting these conversations as basis for administering the pain medication, but then they are called away to another patient’s room…
Continue Reading How Lawyers Can Help Clients Maintain Accurate Medical Records

The pharmacy field is growing nationally and in Wisconsin, providing various opportunities and roles for pharmacists to expand their scope of practice. This article provides a brief overview of the licensure requirements in Wisconsin for pharmacists to help attorneys advise pharmacists regarding their continuing education requirements, duties, and scope of practice. It also discusses how collaborative practice agreements and standing orders can impact pharmacists’ scope of practice. Pharmacist Licensing and Duties Pharmacists must meet certain criteria to obtain licensure…
Continue Reading Pharmacists in Wisconsin: A Legal Primer

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently voted to issue a final rule that would ban nearly all noncompetition agreements. The rule was officially published a few weeks later, meaning it will take effect Sept. 4, 2024 (if it is not held up by a court before then). The final rule has already faced – and will likely continue to face – substantial pushback from the business community and from most health care entities. On July 3, 2024, a federal…
Continue Reading The Impact of the FTC’s Ban on Noncompete Agreements in the Health Care Industry

For the first time in U.S. history,
overdose deaths have exceeded 100,000 per year and one person dies by
suicide every 11 minutes. The U.S. continues to experience a mental health (MH) and substance use disorder (SUD) (behavioral health) crisis of unprecedented proportions. In a powerful move, government agencies reunited to collectively address the long-standing challenges to balancing patient behavioral health treatment needs with health plan and insurer fiduciary financial responsibilities to its insured population by proposing a…
Continue Reading The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act and the Future of Behavioral Health Care

For fiscal year 2023, the Department of Justice (DOJ)
recouped over $2.68 billion through the enforcement of False Claims Act (FCA) settlements and judgments, a notable increase from
FY 2022’s $2.2 billion recoupment.1 Additionally, over $1.8 billion out of the over $2.68 billion recovered are, according to the report, within the “health care industry, including managed care providers, hospitals, pharmacies, laboratories, long-term acute care facilities, and physicians,” which is an increase from FY 2022. As the last…
Continue Reading 2023 Broke Records for False Claims Act Recoveries

It’s spring, and the legislative session is in full swing in Wisconsin – the perfect time to reflect on some atypical aspects of the Wisconsin health law environment. In no particular order, here are our top picks.

There is no automatic surrogate decision maker for a patient who becomes incapacitated.

This is Amy’s top pick because, in her experience, Wisconsin’s lack of a surrogate decision-maker law adds more stress than patient protection to many end-of-life situations.

Much to the…
Continue Reading Four Atypical Aspects of Wisconsin’s Health Law Environment