On Friday, April 17, President Barack Obama signed into law the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015, repealing the "sustainable growth rate" formula or "SGR" which was set by Congress in 1997 to control Medicare spending by limiting annual increases...
PLDO Law Blog
Firm News
Revocation of Home Health Agency’s Medicare Enrollment and Billing Privileges Upheld
The revocation of a home health agency's (HHA) Medicare enrollment and billing privileges was recently upheld by an Administrative Law Judge in the Civil Remedies Division of the Health & Human Services Departmental Appeals Board (ALJ). The ALJ determined that the...
Health Care Providers Cannot Sue States Over Low Medicaid Reimbursement Rates
On Tuesday, March 31, 2015, in a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court of the United States ("SCOTUS") ruled in the case Armstrong v. Exceptional Child Center, Inc., that health care providers cannot sue a state to challenge low Medicaid reimbursement rates. Initially,...
Technology in Health Care Grows in Popularity
The shift in the health care industry toward greater efficiency and a higher level of quality of care is resulting in technological innovation. The popularity of the practice of medicine via mobile and wireless devices is on the rise and telemedicine is leading the...
End-Of-Year Tax Planning Tips And What You Should Know For 2020
As we approach the end of 2019, taxpayers need to be mindful to position themselves to minimize their state and federal income tax liability, which is due by April 15 of 2020.This is accomplished by accelerating deductions and deferring income. To accelerate...
General Assembly Eliminates “Open and Obvious” As Complete Defense To Personal Injury Claims
In legislation approved by the Governor on July 15, 2019, the General Assembly amended section 9-20-4 of the General Laws (the Comparative Negligence statute) such that the open and obvious defense to personal injury claims can no longer act as a complete bar to...
The Increasing Sweep of Opioid Litigation
States are now one step closer to holding the Sackler family individually liable for the role they and their pharmaceutical corporation, Purdue Pharma, played in creating and facilitating the nation’s opioid epidemic. In a decision issued on October 8, 2019,...
Changes In The Wind for Retirement Benefits – Possible
Last spring the United States House of Representatives by an over whelming majority passed the most significant changes to the IRA/401(k) laws since their original passage in the mid 1970’s. If signed into law these changes will: allow part-time workers who work less...
RI Creates New Tax Credit for Small Business Investment Companies
The Rhode Island General Assembly recently created a new program designed to promote private funding for Rhode Island small businesses. The program creates a tax credit for Small Business Investment Companies (“SBIC”) that invest in eligible Rhode Island businesses....
