A new federal statute imposes criminal penalties for kickbacks related to addiction recovery and related services. The Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act (“EKRA”), passed last October as part of the anti-opioid SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, creates additional compliance requirements for substance abuse recovery homes, clinical treatment facilities, and laboratories, as well as for […]
This is a friendly reminder to covered entities and their business associates about the deadline to notify the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”) of any HIPAA breaches that were discovered in 2018 and involved fewer than 500 individuals. The deadline to report such breaches to OCR is March […]
Every year, my great friend Tim hosts a spectacular super bowl party. He has a gigantic taco bar with multiple nacho cheese sauces and all the fixings. He completely outdoes himself. My buddies and I all overeat as we watch the game and wait for the commercials. One of us also typically looks up that […]
This year, I again have the privilege of helping coach my 8th grade son’s basketball team. The boys are learning a lot and giving it their all. But during just about every stoppage of play, one of the players complains about being fouled and the ref didn’t call it. I say that referees are human […]
If you are a health care organization interested in improving your cybersecurity, then we have some good news for you. On December 28, 2018, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) published technical guidance for small, medium, and large health care organizations looking to voluntarily improve their cybersecurity. The publication includes four parts: […]
While flipping through the channels the other night, I came across one of my favorite all-time movies: Coming to America. The flick stars Eddie Murphy as African Prince Akeem who travels to the U.S. to find a bride. Because he doesn’t want a potential wife to date him for his money, Akeem pretends to be […]
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will accept new H-1B (Specialty Occupation) petitions subject to the annual quota for the fiscal year of 2020 beginning on April 1, 2019, and now is the time for interested employers to start preparing cap-subject H-1B petitions. Below are some basics about the H-1B visa, the annual quota, and […]
Under the tree this Christmas, my son and I got some pretty awesome fishing lures. We can’t wait to get out on the lake this summer to try and land some prize lunker. The only problem is, summer seems pretty far away right now. Before we head out on the lake, I always check the […]
UPDATE: The deadline to submit comments on these proposed regulations has been extended to January 30, 2019, due to the Department of Education’s website being out of service for two days during the government shutdown. Submit your comments here. The Trump administration is looking to make its mark on Title IX. To that end, the […]
As many readers know, I am a huge fan of movies. That’s why every year I look forward to Black Friday shopping where I can snag huge deals on Blu Rays and DVDs. This year I grabbed some awesome flicks, including ‘Kong: Skull Island.’ The movie is set in the 1970s at the close of […]
