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Latest from Hall, Render, Killian, Heath & Lyman, P.C. Blog - Page 2

A federal court in Pennsylvania (“the Court”) ordered the unsealing of nearly a decade’s worth of False Claims Act (“FCA”) filings, holding that the government failed to overcome the strong presumption of public access to judicial records.

In U.S. ex rel. Compton v. HCR ManorCare, Inc., No. 16-0851 (E.D. Pa. Apr. 17, 2026) (“Compton“), the Court rejected the government’s attempt to keep dozens of petitions confidential—petitions asking the Court to delay unsealing the case to the public. The Court…
Continue Reading A Turning Tide—Federal Court Orders Decade of Sealed FCA Filings Unsealed

  • Atrium Health has submitted a certificate of need application to develop a new hospital in Wilmington, North Carolina. Atrium’s application follows applications submitted by Novant Health and UNC Health for new hospitals in Wilmington. State regulators have determined the Wilmington area is in need of 225 more hospital beds.
  • Cone Health has submitted a certificate of need application to develop a new $320M hospital in Forsyth County, North Carolina. The plans include 56 acute care beds, 18 emergency bays,

    • …
    Continue Reading Weekly Hospital Real Estate Briefing: Atrium Health and Cone Health Announce New Hospitals in North Carolina I Bon Secours Adds to Urgent Care Footprint I Health Systems Invest in Housing

    The Indiana Department of Health (“IDOH”) published proposed amendments to the Residential Care Facility (“RCF”) regulations at 410 IAC 16.2-5 governing resident rights, residency agreements and involuntary resident evictions. The proposal represents one of the most significant updates to Indiana’s assisted living regulatory framework in recent years and is intended to align Indiana’s rules with the federal Home and Community-Based Services (“HCBS”) Settings Rule.
    Background
    According to IDOH, the proposed amendments are intended to ensure compliance with federal HCBS…
    Continue Reading Assisted Living Update: Indiana Proposes Significant Revisions to Residential Care Facility Resident Rights, Residency Agreements and Eviction Rules

    As Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act (“EKRA”) enforcement continues to expand, the United States District Court for the Southern District of California in United States v. Simons  offers an early look at how courts may handle the evidentiary and testimonial issues likely to arise in future prosecutions. On May 1, 2026, the Court issued an Order on the parties’ motions in limine (the “Order”) providing practical guidance on the admissibility of charged terminology, the permissible scope of fact and…
    Continue Reading United States v. Simons: Key Evidentiary Guidance in an Emerging Area of EKRA Enforcement

    Senate Enrolled Act 285 (“SEA 285”) will expand the statutory definition of “gravely disabled”. The law also creates a new statutory framework prohibiting unauthorized camping or sleeping on public property. This new misdemeanor expressly requires law enforcement officers to first assess whether emergency detention is appropriate before pursuing criminal penalties under the street-camping provisions. As a result, hospital emergency departments and inpatient psychiatric facilities will see an increase in law-enforcement-initiated transports for emergency detention, particularly where the individual is…
    Continue Reading Indiana Law Broadens ‘Gravely Disabled’ Standard Effective July 1, 2026

  • The Veterans Health Administration and HCA occupy the largest amount of REIT- and investor-owned outpatient space, according to a recent Revista post; however, most health systems overwhelmingly favor owner-occupied outpatient space. On the development side, third-party development accounts for about 30% of health system MOB projects, with the remainder being self-developed.
  • High-quality, well-located medical office space is increasingly difficult for health care tenants to secure, with competition intensifying in many markets as demand shifts toward suburban markets. The supply

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    Continue Reading Weekly Hospital Real Estate Briefing: $300M Novant Campus | Baystate/Mercy Announce Transaction | Growing Sale-Leaseback Restrictions

    On May 21, 2026, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) released a policy memo limiting the issuance of green cards based on adjustment of status to applicants demonstrating the need for extraordinary relief. The policy memo states that adjustment of status should be a discretionary measure, not an expected benefit. Absent extraordinary circumstances, applicants seeking permanent residency should follow the traditional consular visa process in their home country.

    The policy memo applies to applicants who are permitted to seek…
    Continue Reading UPDATE: USCIS Limits Adjustment of Status to Applications Demonstrating Need for Extraordinary Relief

    Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) is rapidly reshaping the way workplaces function, especially in health care. While AI offers meaningful opportunities to streamline employer processes and increase efficiency, its adoption is outpacing the development of legal standards and governance structures. Moreover, a patchwork of state and local laws that seemingly conflict with current federal policy further muddy the waters for employers attempting to assess and navigate the risks associated with AI use in the employment space.
    AI’s Growing Role in Employment…
    Continue Reading Navigating AI in the Workforce Without Clear Legal Guardrails

    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) posted Advisory Opinion 26-11 (“Advisory Opinion”) on May 20, 2026. This favorable opinion concerns a precision oncology company (“Requestor”) providing free supplemental reports to patients based on its algorithmic analysis, which functions as a Multi-Cancer Detection Test (“Algorithmic Analysis”). Although OIG found that the Arrangement (defined below) implicates both the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (“AKS”) and the Beneficiary Inducements Civil Monetary Penalty Law (“CMP”), OIG approved the…
    Continue Reading OIG Issues Favorable Opinion Allowing Precision Oncology Company to Provide Free Supplemental Reports Displaying Multi-Cancer Detection Test Results

    From time to time, we like to take a break from reporting the headlines and tell you what our real estate attorneys, paralegals and consultants are working on across the country.

  • Senior Housing Projects – We can’t say enough about the high level of senior housing activity right now. The public Real Estate Investment Trusts (“REITs”) are buying everything in sight, or so it seems. We’re working with several regional senior housing developers and operators on the disposition of

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    Continue Reading Weekly Hospital Real Estate Briefing: What’s on Our Desk

    Wisconsin joins the growing list of states granting Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (“APRNs”) full practice authority. Passed in early August 2025, the APRN Modernization Act (the “Act”) will take effect on September 1, 2026, and the license of qualified advanced practice nurses will no longer require that they practice in a collaborative arrangement with a physician or dentist. However, questions still remain regarding how this new law will interact with certain government and commercial payor requirements.

    Historically, Wisconsin provided…
    Continue Reading REMINDER: Wisconsin’s APRN Modernization Act Becomes Effective September 1

    The Department of Justice (“DOJ” or the “Department”) is putting the False Claims Act (“FCA”) on an accelerated track. In a May 27 memorandum, the Department announced a shift toward faster qui tam review, earlier enforcement decisions and more aggressive identification of fraud involving federal benefits programs—signaling a sharper, more streamlined enforcement posture.
    The memorandum follows the March 16 Executive Order Establishing the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud and reflects a broader effort to tighten the…
    Continue Reading FCA Enforcement on Fast Forward: DOJ Moves to Speed Reviews and Expand Fraud Recoveries

    Despite acknowledging “weighty” constitutional questions, the Fifteenth Court of Appeals in Texas (the “Court”) refused to halt a Medicaid qui tam action against Novartis, holding that the company’s constitutional challenges to the Texas Medicaid Fraud Prevention Act (“TMFPA”) must be addressed through ordinary appellate review, rather than through extraordinary relief. In re Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp., No. 15-25-00207-CV (Tex. App.—15th Dist. Apr. 30, 2026).
    Background
    Health Selection Group, LLC (“HSG”) brought a qui tam action against Novartis under the TMFPA,…
    Continue Reading Texas Court Refuses Mandamus Review of Constitutional Challenges to Medicaid Qui Tam Action

    On April 30, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced the creation of the West Coast Health Care Fraud Strike Force to target health care fraud in Silicon Valley. Specifically, the strike force unites the District of Arizona, District of Nevada and Northern District of California Health Care Fraud Divisions.
    Background
    The Health Care Strike Force program is a traditional DOJ enforcement model that adds resources from other federal Districts to supplement the enforcement target. The Health Care…
    Continue Reading DOJ Announces New Strike Force Targeting Health Care Fraud on West Coast

    The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (“CMS’s”) guidance governing Medicare Advantage marketing practices has continued to evolve over the past several years, with regulatory requirements shifting significantly across administrations. These changes reflect both the ongoing development of health care coverage models and differing policy priorities among governing parties. As a result, organizations involved in Medicare Advantage marketing have faced a regulatory landscape marked by frequent and often substantial revisions.
    Background and Context
    Each fall, CMS releases a proposed…
    Continue Reading CMS Revises Medicare Advantage Marketing Guidance for Scope of Appointment Forms

    On May 22, 2026, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) published a proposed rule regarding both Medicaid State directed payments (“SDPs”) and Medicaid fee-for-service reimbursement. The proposed rule is based on two distinct but reinforcing authorities: (i) section 71116 of H.R. 1 (a/k/a the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”); and (ii) the Presidential Memorandum titled “Eliminating Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in Medicaid” (effective June 6, 2025).

    The proposed rule would implement section 71116 by revising the SDP…
    Continue Reading New CMS Proposed Rule Would Impose a Payment Limit on Additional State Directed Payments and Establish a Payment Limit for ‘Targeted’ Medicaid Fee-for-Service Payments