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  • The DOJ recently charged 324 defendants, including 96 licensed medical professionals, in a $14.6B national health care fraud takedown. The government seized over $245M in cash, luxury vehicles, cryptocurrency and other assets, while CMS reported preventing more than $4B in fraudulent payments by suspending or revoking the billing privileges of 205 providers.
  • Intermountain Health finalized a ground lease that will facilitate construction of Nevada’s first standalone children’s hospital at UNLV’s Harry Reid Research and Technology Park. The 710,000-sf, 200-bed

  • Continue Reading Weekly Hospital Real Estate Briefing

    Hall Render is proud to present the next installment of the Black Health Care Executive Spotlight, a series honoring the achievements and contributions of Black leaders in the health care industry. Through interviews with executives from hospitals, health systems and other provider groups, the series aims to showcase the diverse perspectives shaping the future of health care.
    This installment of Hall Render’s Black Health Care Executive Spotlight series features Kurt Strudwick, Assistant Vice President of Operations for the
    Continue Reading Black Health Care Executive Spotlight | Kurt Strudwick

    On June 27, 2025, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (“CMMI”) announced the Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction (“WISeR”) Model, its latest model focused on reducing clinically inappropriate and low-value services in traditional Medicare.

    Unlike prior CMMI models, WISeR stands out for its exclusion of traditional health care providers, such as hospitals and physician groups, as direct participants. Instead, the model invites voluntary participation from technology companies that specialize in medical necessity determinations, particularly those using AI-assisted tools.
    Continue Reading CMMI Launches WISeR Model to Target Waste and Inappropriate Services in Traditional Medicare

    In In Re: Commitment of M.C., the Indiana Court of Appeals (the “Court”) dismissed M.C.’s appeal as moot because M.C. failed to demonstrate a particularized collateral consequence of his commitment or that the Indiana Constitution compelled the Court to hear his appeal on the merits. No. 24A-MH-1364, 2025 WL 658771 (Ind. Ct. App. Feb. 28, 2025). However, a recent decision from the Indiana Supreme Court held the expiration of a temporary commitment does not render an appeal moot unless
    Continue Reading Indiana Court of Appeals Clarifies Mootness and Collateral Consequences in Civil Commitment Appeals

    On April 30, 2025, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released the Fiscal Year 2026 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (“IPPS”) Proposed Rule (the “Proposed Rule”) containing several impactful changes to reimbursement for medical, nursing and allied health education programs at teaching hospitals. These CMS developments include:

    • Proposing to revise the calculations for reimbursable net costs incurred by nursing and allied health educational programs (“NAH Programs”);
    • Clarifying how providers can prorate full-time equivalent (“FTE”) counts and caps for


    Continue Reading CMS & HRSA Proposed and Finalized Policies for Graduate Medical Education, Nursing and Allied Health and Children’s Hospitals

  • The Senate passed President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” and by the time this newsletter is published, the bill is expected to have made its way through the House. The current version of the bill, if passed, would cut roughly $1.1 trillion in health-care spending over the next decade, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The spending cuts are expected to have a significant impact on the bottom line of hospitals and health care systems.
  • State lawmakers

  • Continue Reading Weekly Hospital Real Estate Briefing: BBB Legislation Expected to Have Lasting Impact on Hospitals I Top 5 Owners of Medical Real Estate I Hospitals Announce Expansion Projects

    On June 30, 2025, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that it was combating over $14.6 billion in alleged fraud as a result of the 2025 National Health Care Fraud Takedown (“Takedown”). The Takedown is a coordinated effort led by the Health Care Fraud Unit of the DOJ Criminal Division’s Fraud section, partnering with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (“HHS-OIG”), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) and the Drug Enforcement
    Continue Reading Coordinated Government Effort Combats Over $14.6 Billion in Alleged Fraud as Part of the 2025 National Health Care Fraud Takedown

    On November 27, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued a final rule (“Final Rule”) updating the Medicare Conditions of Participation (“CoPs”) for hospitals subject to 42 CFR Part 482 and critical access hospitals (“CAHs”) subject to 42 CFR Part 485. These updates establish a progressive rollout of nationwide standards for both emergency services and obstetrical care aimed at improving patient outcomes and addressing the maternal health crisis in the United States.
    Background and Timeline
    In
    Continue Reading Compliance Deadline July 1, 2025: CMS Hospital and CAH CoP Changes for Emergency Services and Patient Transfers

    Not unlike the laws in just about every other U.S. state, Chapter 15 of the Texas Business and Commerce Code has required that non-solicitation and non-compete agreements for all employees be limited to reasonable time, geographic and scope of activity parameters. However, on June 20, 2025, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law Senate Bill No. 1318 (“SB 1318”), dramatically amending the state’s restrictions on restrictive covenants for physicians and certain other health care practitioners. The changes are highlighted
    Continue Reading New Texas Law Significantly Limits Restrictive Covenants in Health Care

    The Corporate Practice of Medicine doctrine (“CPOM”) generally prohibits non-licensed individuals from practicing medicine or employing physicians to provide medical services. Although CPOM laws vary by state, a general strategy that allows non-physician entities to be involved in health care operations without violating CPOM is to form an MSO structure (sometimes also referred to as a Friendly PC structure), where a non-physician entity provides management services to a physician-owned professional corporation (“PC”). The entities generally institute safeguards to ensure
    Continue Reading OIG Issues Favorable Advisory Opinion Regarding Telehealth Platform Arrangements

    On June 9, 2025, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek signed Senate Bill 951 (“SB 951”) into law. This first-of-its-kind legislation targets private equity-backed management services organizations (“MSOs”) and their professional medical entity (“PME”) counterparts by strengthening the State’s existing prohibition on the Corporate Practice of Medicine (“CPOM”). SB 951 goes into effect on January 1, 2026, with existing MSO-PMEs afforded a three-year grace period (ending January 1, 2029) to transition to compliant structures.
    Scope of the Law
    SB 951 applies
    Continue Reading Oregon Targets Private Equity-Backed Management Services Organizations Through Expansive Corporate Practice of Medicine Bill

  • At least 55 additional rural hospitals may be at risk of negative net incomes if the current version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passes, according to a recent report, due largely to cuts to Medicaid. Independent rural hospitals could lose, on average, 56% of their yearly net income, the report states.
  • A recent S&P analysis highlighted that increased federal scrutiny of Medicaid payments could negatively affect credit ratings for health providers committed to maintaining the highest levels

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    Indiana Senate Enrolled Act 505 (SEA 505), recently signed into law, introduces notable changes to the state’s Emergency Medical Services (“EMS”) framework. Effective July 1, 2025, EMS professionals (including paramedics, EMTs, advanced EMTs and emergency medical responders) will be authorized to transport patients to a broader range of care settings beyond traditional hospitals. This new law also provides clear legal protections for providers acting in good faith when determining patient transport needs.

    Expanded Transport Options to Meet Patient
    Continue Reading Expanded EMS Transport Destinations and Liability Protections: What Indiana Providers Need to Know

    The Indiana Court of Appeals (the “Court”) recently reiterated that trial courts may not impose “special conditions” in civil commitment orders without record evidence tying the condition to the patient’s treatment or public safety. The Court invalidated a trial court’s blanket prohibition on alcohol and non-prescription drugs, finding no evidentiary basis for the restriction. In Re: Commitment of C.M., 258 N.E.3d 280 (Table), 2025 WL 944745 (Ind. Ct. App. Mar. 28, 2025) (unpublished).

    Background
    In October 2024, C.M. entered
    Continue Reading Indiana Court of Appeals Reaffirms Limits on ‘Special Conditions’ in Civil Commitment Orders

    The Supreme Court of the United States (the “Court”) issued its highly anticipated decision in United States v. Skrmetti (“Skrmetti“) on June 18, 2025. The decision holds that a Tennessee law prohibiting the provision of certain medical treatments to minors for gender-affirming purposes does not violate the United States Constitution. This decision has wide-ranging implications for the approximately 25 states that have enacted laws similar to Tennessee’s, and for the enforcement of recent Executive Orders restricting gender-affirming care for
    Continue Reading Gender Affirming Care for Minors Following United States v. Skrmetti

  • A Pennsylvania bill designed to restrict for-profit and investor-owned health care merger and acquisition activity has passed the House of Representatives. The bill gives the State’s Attorney General the power to deny transactions that are “against public interest.” The legislation was created in response to Prospect Medical Holdings filing for bankruptcy protection and closing two hospitals in Pennsylvania.
  • Ascension has entered into an agreement to acquire AMSURG. The transaction will add more than 250 ambulatory surgery centers across

  • Continue Reading Weekly Hospital Real Estate Briefing