By GLENN S. RICHARDS & LEE G. PETRO
Dickinson Wright

Introduction

On December 13, 2024, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced significant updates to its Mapping Broadband Health in America platform. This enhanced tool, now incorporating a range of new health metrics, aims to provide deeper insights into the connection between expanding broadband connectivity and critical health outcomes, with a particular focus on maternal health.

Background

The FCC administers two healthcare subsidy programs under its Universal Service Fund: the Rural Health Care (RHC) program and the COVID-19 Telehealth program. The RHC program provides funding to eligible health care providers to support the cost of broadband and telecommunications services that enable telehealth [Read More]

Michigan’s public mental health plans filed a lawsuit accusing the state’s Department of Health and Human Services of imposing unnegotiated contract terms and threatening to cut off funding.

The plans, known as prepaid inpatient health plans argued DHHS’ actions violate state law and jeopardize mental health and substance use disorder services for thousands of residents.

“This isn’t just a contract dispute – it’s about ensuring the stability of behavioral health services that families across the state rely on every day,” said Robert Sheehan, chief executive officer of Community Mental Health Association of Michigan.

The six-count complaint, filed on behalf of NorthCare Network Mental Health Care Entity and Northern Michigan Regional Entity in the Court [Read More]

By ANNIE WALDMAN

This story was originally published Nov. 19, by ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.

For years, it was a mystery: Seemingly out of the blue, therapists would feel like they’d tripped some invisible wire and become a target of UnitedHealth Group.

A company representative with the Orwellian title “care advocate” would call and grill them about why they’d seen a patient twice a week or weekly for six months.

In case after case, United would refuse to cover care, leaving patients to pay out-of-pocket or go without it. The severity of their issues seemed not to matter.

Around 2016, government officials began to pry open United’s black box. [Read More]

 By JENNI COLAGIOVANNI
Wachler & Associates, P.C.

The COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) resulted in the waiver of certain pre-pandemic restrictions to expand Medicare coverage of telehealth services and increase access to care for Medicare patients.  More than a year and a half after the end of the PHE, several of these continuing telehealth flexibilities are set to expire on December 31, 2024, returning Medicare coverage of some telehealth services back to their pre-pandemic requirements.

Background: Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Medicare coverage of telehealth services was primarily limited to patients located in rural areas and restricted to certain provider types and services. Patients were generally required to travel to approved [Read More]

By KIMBERLY J. RUPPEL
Dickinson Wright

As is the case in many industry sectors, the end of the year brings us to wonder what is in store for healthcare in 2025. Although the future is anyone’s guess, the following three areas of healthcare are most likely to experience robust activity.

1. Non-Compete Litigation

Non-compete provisions are designed to prohibit an employed or contracted healthcare provider from competing against the contracting entity by working for or starting a competing business within a particular geographic area for some time. In April 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) promulgated a rule (the “Rule”) generally prohibiting non-compete clauses in employment agreements except for certain “Senior Executives” with [Read More]

Bill To Relax Public Employee Health Insurance Moves

Public employee unions would have more ability to collectively bargain their members’ health insurance costs under legislation that moved early last month in the Senate on a party-line vote and, later in the day, in the House.

In response to local government employees and teachers getting fed up with soaring health insurance costs, Sen. Kevin Hertel (D-St. Clair Shores) sponsored bills (introduced before the hunting break) that give some flexibility to what’s known as the “80/20” and “hard cap” options.

The revamped versions of SB 1129 and SB 1130 address the same issue as bills that moved out of a House committee last week, but are not the [Read More]

By ARTHUR ALLEN

Many scientists at the federal health agencies await the second Donald Trump administration with dread as well as uncertainty over how the president-elect will reconcile starkly different philosophies among the leaders of his team.

Trump announced Thursday he’ll nominate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be secretary of the Health and Human Services Department, after saying during his campaign he’d let the anti-vaccine activist “go wild” on medicines, food, and health.

Should Kennedy win Senate confirmation, his critics say a radical antiestablishment medical movement with roots in past centuries would take power, threatening the achievements of a science-based public health order painstakingly built since World War II.

Trump said in a post [Read More]

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, is coming into the nomination process in an unusual position, with a long list of his own policy priorities separate from the president-elect’s, and a public promise by Trump to let him “go wild” on his ideas.

Céline Gounder, the editor-at-large for public health at KFF Health News and a CBS News medical contributor, answers questions below about the role Kennedy has been tapped to take on and some of the ideas in the sweeping “Make America Healthy Again” platform he may try to push through.

Q: What is the role of the Department of [Read More]

By JESSE ADAM MARKOS, ESQ.
Wachler & Associates, PC

 The National Practitioner Data Bank (Data Bank) published an article in a recent version of their in-house publication, NPDB Insights, that reinforces the importance of exercising caution before resigning from a hospital.  For those on staff or employed by a hospital, a resignation may at first glance appear to be the best path forward when their relationship with that hospital has deteriorated.  However, that resignation will often create more problems than it resolves if it triggers a report to the Data Bank because the resignation occurred during an ongoing investigation by the Hospital.  And since a Data Bank report can have significant professional [Read More]

By KATHLEEN WALKER
Dickinson Wright

On November 1, Texas hospitals faced a new requirement under an Executive Order issued by Governor Greg Abbott on August 8, 2024 (Order), requiring them to document medical costs related to the care of individuals without legal immigration status. Governor Abbott provided the following statement explaining the reasoning behind his Order:

“Due to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ open border policies, Texas has had to foot the bill for medical costs for individuals illegally in the state,” said Governor Abbott. “Texans should not have to shoulder the burden of financially supporting medical care for illegal immigrants. That is why today I issued an Executive [Read More]