If you work in the health care field, in any capacity, you have surely heard of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or "HIPAA;" and if you or your business create, use, disclose or accept protected health information ("PHI"), you are likely a...
PLDO Law Blog
Health Care
Reporting Deadlines Under the Affordable Care Act Extended
On December 28, 2015, by way of Notice 2016-4, the Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") extended the due dates for 2015 information reporting pursuant to the Affordable Care Act ("ACA"). Noting that some insurers and employers need...
Employer Reporting Deadlines under the ACA Are Fast Approaching
If you employed 50 or more full-time employees (including full-time equivalent employees) in 2015, you are an "Applicable Large Employer" or "ALE" in accordance with the Affordable Care Act's ("ACA") Employer Shared Responsibility provisions under Section 4980H of the...
Protected Health Information and HIPAA – What You Need to Know Before You Respond to a Request or Subpoena
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ("HIPAA") Privacy Rule generally prohibits covered entities and their business associates from disclosing protected health information ("PHI") unless there is a valid written authorization or a specific exception...
CYBERSECURITY IN 2025 – A SHIFTING LANDSCAPE
The biggest cybersecurity risk that businesses faced years ago was losing access to their data due to a ransomware attack where a hacker would lock up a company’s files and only release them back if a ransom was paid. Wisely, many businesses responded to these threats...
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...
