Publications
As many of you are aware, the Health Care Financing Administration (“HCFA”) is implementing a prospective payment system (“PPS”) for outpatient hospital services. As part of this initiative, HCFA has published proposed regulations concerning PPS for hospital outpatient services, including new requirements for designation of provider-based status. These new requirements may make it more difficult […]
On October 1, 2003, a new criminal law took effect targeting abuse of the elderly, blind, disabled and mentally retarded.
On November 2, 2002, President Bush signed the implementing legislation for the United States to join an international trademark treaty known as the Madrid Protocol (the “Protocol”). On August 2, 2003, the United States deposited the necessary Instrument of Accession to the Protocol with the World Intellectual Property Office (“WIPO”), allowing membership of the United […]
Festo v. Shoketsu Kinzoku Kohyo Kabushiki Co. A recent decision by the United States Supreme Court may significantly impact the scope of protection a court will accord to patent claims in an infringement lawsuit. In its much anticipated decision in Festo v. Shoketsu Kinzoku Kohyo Kabushiki Co., __ U.S. __ 122 S.CT. 1831 (May 28, […]
On January 13, 2009, the Department of Justice announced the following change to the authority of the Director of the ATF. The change was announced in an interim final rule with a request for comments. Any comments on this proposed rule change must be submitted on or before April 14, 2009.
Florida City Loses Patent Ownership Suit The City of Cocoa, Florida has been involved in litigation with two city employees over who owns the rights to a patent for technology potentially worth $300 million in licensing royalties. As reported in the Wall Street Journal on March 26, 2002, seven city employees designed a new […]
Corporate Governance – What is it? “Corporate governance” refers both to the system of rules, policies, and procedures through which the board of directors of a corporation oversees its affairs and how the board actually performs its functions and discharges its duties. Why Corporate Governance Has Become so Important. In today’s environment, the quality of […]
HIPAA’s Impact on Employers New technology has transformed the way society manages information, but has also raised significant privacy concerns, particularly in relation to confidential personal matters such as health information. You may have heard about recent regulatory attempts to improve privacy protections for such information, but you should be aware that employers are also […]
Starting October 1, 2003, long-term care providers have been required to implement a three-day time frame for reporting suspected abuse, neglect, exploitation or abandonment of a nursing home resident or an elderly person to the Department of Social Services.
On June 17, 2003, we issued an alert outlining developments in the litigation between International Business Machines Corporation (“IBM”) and Caldera International, Inc., a company that does business under the name The SCO Group (“SCO”). Despite being widely reported in the popular and trade press, the facts of the IBM/SCO dispute remain complex and often […]
HIPAA Privacy, Security, Electronic Transactions Summary of Statute and Regulations
Recent months have brought dramatic changes inside and outside the Beltway that could have a significant impact on antitrust enforcement in the United States. Inside the Beltway, the Bush Administration has put into place a new team of antitrust enforcers who are likely to take a somewhat different view of the antitrust laws than their […]
On September 3, 2003, the Office of the New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer announced a $40 million settlement with Canary Capital Partners, LLC (a multi-million dollar hedge fund), Canary Investment Management, LLC, Canary Capital Partners, Ltd, and the managing principal Edward Stern, for fraudulent trading of mutual-fund shares. Because of suggestions that such […]
Effective for plan years beginning after November 26, 2004, group health plans should use these model COBRA notices to provide the requred initial notice to participants (Final Model General COBRA Notice) and the notice upon the ocurrence of a COBRA “qualifying event” (Final Model COBRA Election Notice ) .
Effective for plan years beginning after November 26, 2004, group health plans should use these model COBRA notices to provide the requred initial notice to participants (Final Model General COBRA Notice) and the notice upon the ocurrence of a COBRA “qualifying event” (Final Model COBRA Election Notice ).
On July 15, 2003, Wiggin & Dana issued a Client Alert summarizing the recent decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (the Court), reversing nearly $490 million in damages awarded to IGEN International, Inc. after a six year legal battle with Roche Diagnostics GmbH over issues relating to a license agreement […]
The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) has delayed until January 1, 2005 the effective date of its new rule that requires the sender of an unsolicited fax “advertisement” to have the prior written consent of the recipient. The new rule, which amends the FCC’s telemarketing and facsimile advertising rules pursuant to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act […]
The GLBA only applies to individuals who obtain financial products or services primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, and does not apply to companies or individuals who obtain financial products or services for business, commercial, or agricultural purposes. On November 12, 1999, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) became law, bringing important changes to […]
"To swallow gudgeons ere they're catch'd,And count their chickens ere they're atch'd." Samuel Butler [1600-1680] "This moral, I think, may be safely attached;Reckon not on your chickens before they are hatched." Jefferys Taylor [1792-1853] "But Times do change and move continually." Edmund Spenser [1553-1599] This article addresses a recent Federal Circuit opinion exploring the question […]
The Health Care Finance Administration (HCFA) has issued a final rule under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) adopting standards for eight electronic transactions and code sets to be used in those transactions. It contains requirements concerning the use of these standards by health plans, health care clearinghouses and health care […]
www.hcfa.gov Health Care Finance Administration www.healthlawyers.org American Health Lawyers Association www.smed.com/hippa Shared Medical Services www.chim.org Center for Health Care Information Management www.wpc-edi.com/hipaa Washington Publishing Company https://aspe.hhs.gov/admnsimp/ Dept. of Health and Human Services Administrative Simplification http:[email protected] Site that allows you to submit a hipaa question www.hipaacomply.com HIPAA Compliance www.hipaa-iq.com/resource.htm QuadraMed www.ahima.org AHIMA www.afehct.org Association for Electronic […]
The DecisionOn Thursday, April 4, 2002, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an important decision in Karl Storz Endoscopy-America, Inc. v. Surgical Technologies Inc. et al., a case of first impression regarding the scope of the protections provided by U.S. trademark laws. Representing Karl Storz, a team of Wiggin & […]
Appearing in the Medical Staff News May, 2000 ©-2000 Wiggin & Dana. Health care attorneys who represent provider networks are facing a critical question with the advent of the new Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank (HIPDB): whether provider networks fall within the reporting requirements of the HIPDB for purposes of registration and for reporting […]
Federal Law With President Bush’s announcement that he is calling Reservists to duty, many employers are asking about their responsibilities to employees who take a military leave of absence. The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) governs employers’ rights and obligations in this area. As a general rule, the USERRA requires employers […]
The efforts of institutions of higher education to maintain racially diverse student bodies are more complicated today than ever before. Both public and private institutions may be sued by applicants claiming that admissions policies, designed to ensure minority student enrollment, discriminate against them. The well-known 1978 decision of the United States Supreme Court in Regents […]
Effective February 1, 2001, the HSR Act will be revised in important respects. On December 21, 2000, the President signed into law the first significant changes in the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, 15 U.S.C. § 18a, since its enactment in 1976. The Act requires parties intending to merge or make acquisitions of voting securities or assets […]
Reprinted with permission from Intellectual Property Today November 1997. Abstract Recently there have been a number of changes in the law and regulations governing corrections of inventorship. The Federal Circuit, in two recent cases, has issued rulings regarding diligence, deceptive intent, and declaratory judgments to resolve inventorship. In response to these rulings, the Patent Office […]
On June 17, 1994, a negotiated settlement was reached in United States and State of Florida v. Morton Plant Health System, Inc. and Trustees of Mease Hospital, Inc., Civil No. 94-748-CIV-T-23E (M.D. Fla.), an antitrust action brought by the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice and the Office of the Attorney General […]
On September 27, 1994, the United States Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (the “Agencies”) jointly issued “Statements of Enforcement Policy and Analytical Principles Relating to Health Care and Antitrust.” The statements supersede the September 15, 1993 “Statements of Antitrust Enforcement Policy in the Health Care Area”, and expand those six statements to […]