TexasFlagOn Thursday, July 16, 2015, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) held a public meeting regarding its request to seek an extension of its Section 1115 Medicaid Transformation Waiver. The current waiver covered a five year period ending September 30, 2016. Under the waiver Texas has expanded Medicaid managed care, created a funding pool to offset uncompensated care and provided incentives for hospitals and other providers to develop delivery system infrastructure in Texas. Over the waiver period, Texas will commit $29 Billion to the uncompensated care and delivery system payment pools (approximately 58% or $16.82 Billion represent federal funds).
Continue Reading Texas 1115 Waiver Extension

BlogChartOn May 7, 2015, Governor Jay Nixon signed Senate Bill 239 into law and reinstated damage caps for Missouri medical malpractice cases. While Missouri law previously limited damages in wrongful death actions, healthcare providers faced limitless verdicts in all other medical malpractice lawsuits. Not anymore.

Under the new law, plaintiffs cannot recover more than $400,000 for non-economic damages in medical malpractice actions. If the case involves claims of catastrophic personal injury or wrongful death, the cap is increased to $700,000. The term “catastrophic personal injury” is defined by statute to include cases of quadriplegia, paraplegia, loss of 2 or more limbs, brain injuries involving permanent cognitive impairment, irreversible major organ failure, or severe vision loss.
Continue Reading Missouri tort reform reformed again: medical malpractice damage caps reinstated

patient493915589Over the last few decades, the healthcare industry has come to recognize that research on children is necessary to determine the safest and most effective treatments for pediatric patients. Whether your institution is part of a nationally renowned research program or participates in a few pharmaceutical research studies a year, the following two issues are critical when structuring research studies that involve pediatric patients.
Continue Reading Don’t let research on ‘little’ subjects get you in big trouble

Brian G. Flood of Husch Blackwell LLP‘s Austin office participated in a recent forum on “Managing Fraud and Bribery Risks in the Healthcare Sector.”

The Q&A Forum forms part of a Special Report on Corporate Fraud & Corruption, which appears in the February 2015 issue of Financier Worldwide magazine.

For the Q&A Forum, Financier

It’s time to begin preparing H-1B petitions for an early April filing and Oct. 1, 2015, effective date.

Advance planning is crucial. Due to the improving economy and the backlog of demand from April 2014, the H-1B cap will likely be exceeded again this year. Employers that fail to file H-1B petitions on April 1 may lose the opportunity to employ the intended foreign national candidate.
Continue Reading Healthcare employers: Plan now for filing H-1B petitions for foreign national candidates, OPT employees

Now that patients with Ebola have landed on U.S. soil, hospitals and other healthcare providers must prepare for the possibility that a patient with Ebola will walk through the doors. In this Oct. 30 webinar, Husch Blackwell presenters will look at some of the pressing legal issues related to treating patients with communicable diseases such as Ebola, and what providers can do now to prepare their clinical, compliance and legal teams.
Continue Reading Upcoming webinar to offer legal, regulatory considerations for healthcare professionals preparing for Ebola