A recent decision by a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ("CMS") Administrator serves as a reminder to providers regarding "bad debt" collection efforts. Medicare providers can be reimbursed for "bad debts," which are "uncollectible" amounts attributable to...
PLDO Law Blog
Month: December 2014
Medicaid Market Explodes as Primary Care Doctors Face Major Cut in Fees for Services
The market is flooded with millions of people who have new Medicaid coverage at the same time primary care physicians (PCP) who care for this population face a major cut in pay. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) authorized the federal government to fund a temporary...
Health Care Premium Tax Credits Under Review by U.S. Supreme Court: Decision Could Have Far-Reaching Consequences
On November 7, 2014, the Supreme Court of the United States decided to take up the issue of whether premium tax credits provided for under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are available on both state and federal health insurance exchanges. The Court will hear arguments...
Massachusetts Voters Approve New Sick Leave Law: What It Means To Your Business
Massachusetts employers would be well advised to update their written policies, employee handbooks and internal record keeping procedures to prepare for a new law that provides one of the most generous sick leave mandates in the country. On November 4, 2014,...
REAL ESTATE TITLE DISPUTES: THE PROCESS OF RECORDING “LIS PENDENS” IN RHODE ISLAND AND MASSACHUSETTS
If you or your business ends up in a dispute over real estate, it is likely that you will encounter a lis pendens. Lis pendens is Latin for “suit pending,” and it means just that, it is a statutorily governed legal tool that is often used to give notice on a...
HIGH STAKES: DRAFTING AND INTERPRETING PAYMENT REJECTIONS UNDER MASSACHUSETTS’ PROMPT PAY ACT
Under the Massachusetts Prompt Pay Act, which governs construction contracts, unless an owner meets the Act's "time and substance" requirements for rejecting a payment application from a contractor (ditto for subcontractors' applications to contractors), that...
RHODE ISLAND SUPREME COURT RULES THAT A PROPERTY’S FORECLOSURE WAS VALID DESPITE PLAINTIFF’S CLAIMS THAT MORTGAGE DOCUMENTS WERE “AMBIGUOUS”
BackgroundA recent case arose out of foreclosure proceedings that were instituted by Wells Fargo Bank (“Wells Fargo” or “defendant”) with respect to property located at 18 High Street in Bristol, Rhode Island. The property’s owner (“plaintiff”) secured the mortgage by...
FDA CONSIDERS RESCHEDULING MARIJUANA: A MILESTONE IN DRUG POLICY REFORM
The landscape of drug policy in the United States is poised for a significant shift as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) undertakes a reassessment of marijuana’s drug scheduling classification. The FDA is conducting a comprehensive review of marijuana’s current...
ARE NON-COMPETITION AGREEMENTS ENFORCEABLE IN RHODE ISLAND?
COURTS RULE IN FAVOR OF THE EMPLOYER’S AGREEMENT IN RECENT CASE The Rhode Island Supreme Court recently addressed the enforceability of a non-competition provision. In Walls v. Griggs & Browne Pest Control, Inc., the Court reviewed an agreement between Brian Walls...
