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So far Paul Natinsky has created 402 blog entries.

LANSING LINES

Lansing Lines is presented in cooperation with MIRS, a Lansing-based news and information service.

AG Argues It Should Decide Venue In Medicaid Fraud Case

As the Republican-led House moved this week to curb the Michigan Attorney General’s authority — including where cases may be filed—the Attorney General’s office was simultaneously defending its venue powers before the Michigan Supreme Court.

At issue is whether the Attorney General properly brought a Medicaid fraud enforcement case in Ingham County instead of Oakland County, where the defendants argue the alleged misconduct occurred.

Appearing before the court on Wednesday, Assistant Attorney General Stephanie Seery said the state should prevail because the injury caused by the alleged fraud occurred in Ingham [Read More]

LANSING LINES2026-03-08T21:17:45-04:00

The CDC Just Sidelined These Childhood Vaccines. Here’s What They Prevent

By ARTHUR ALLEN & JACKIE FORTIER

The federal government has drastically scaled back the number of recommended childhood immunizations, sidelining six routine vaccines that have safeguarded millions from serious diseases, long-term disability, and death.

Just three of the six immunizations the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it will no longer routinely recommend — against hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and rotavirus — have prevented nearly 2 million hospitalizations and more than 90,000 deaths in the past 30 years, according to the CDC’s own publications.

Vaccines against the three diseases, as well as those against respiratory syncytial virus, meningococcal disease, flu, and covid, are now recommended only for children at high risk of serious [Read More]

The CDC Just Sidelined These Childhood Vaccines. Here’s What They Prevent2026-02-01T14:57:57-05:00

Older Americans Quit Weight Loss Drugs in Droves

By PAULA SPAN

Year after year, Mary Bucklew strategized with a nurse practitioner about losing weight. “We tried exercise,” like walking 35 minutes a day, she recalled. “And 39,000 different diets.”

But 5 pounds would come off and then invariably reappear, said Bucklew, 75, a public transit retiree in Ocean View, Delaware. Nothing seemed to make much difference — until 2023, when her body mass index slightly exceeded 40, the threshold for severe obesity.

“There’s this new drug I’d like you to try, if your insurance will pay for it,” the nurse practitioner advised. She was talking about Ozempic.

Medicare covered it for treating Type 2 diabetes but not for weight loss, and it [Read More]

Older Americans Quit Weight Loss Drugs in Droves2026-01-26T14:43:37-05:00

COMPLIANCE CORNER

The WISeR Model: CMS’ New Venture into AI‑Driven Reviews and Its Implications for Providers

By JENNI COLAGIOVANNI & SHANIYA RAHEJA
Wachler & Associates, P.C.

On June 27, 2025, CMS announced its plan to implement the Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction (WISeR) Model, purportedly designed to introduce enhanced oversight into the Medicare payment process and to ensure timely and appropriate Medicare payment for select items and services. Incorporating advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), together with human clinical review, WISeR will involve prepayment assessments of certain items and services. Beginning January 1, 2026, WISeR will be implemented in six states—Arizona, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, and Washington—for an [Read More]

COMPLIANCE CORNER2026-01-26T14:37:04-05:00

LEGAL LEANINGS

Telehealth’s Weight-Loss Boom and the Corporate Practice of Medicine

By ALLISON TUOHY DOLSON
Dickinson Wright

Telehealth weight-loss platforms offering rapid GLP-1 prescriptions have become one of the fastest-growing segments in healthcare. These platforms connect consumers with clinicians via virtual consultations to assess eligibility for drugs like semaglutide or tirzepatide. This model has attracted significant venture capital as demand surges. Yet, behind the glossy marketing and rapid expansion lies a longstanding legal principle that many companies are confronting anew: the corporate practice of medicine (CPOM).

The Old Doctrine Meets the New Model

The CPOM doctrine prohibits corporations and other non-physicians from practicing medicine, owning medical practices, or controlling physicians. Its core purpose is to ensure that [Read More]

LEGAL LEANINGS2026-02-01T14:56:36-05:00

LANSING LINES

Appeals Panel: Suit Challenging COVID Orders Moot

A Michigan Court of Appeals panel held in December that an Otsego County barbecue restaurant’s lawsuit challenging the local health department’s pandemic-related orders is moot.

Judge Brock Swartzle concurred in the judgment, but he would have addressed Moore Murphy Hospitality’s claims challenging the constitutionality of the provision which authorized local health departments to issue orders regarding an “imminent danger” to public health.

“… Because any decision by this panel on the merits of those claims would be summarily vacated by our Supreme Court, per its order in T & V Assoc. v. Director of Health & Human Services … there is little to be gained by this panel reaching [Read More]

LANSING LINES2026-01-25T11:40:59-05:00

Public Health Professionals Ask State Gov To Work Against Fed Gov Measures

A coalition of public health researchers, healthcare workers and advocates is proposing that states join forces to create their own public health authorities in place of organizations like the Center for Disease Control (CDC) as the Trump administration implements its public health policies.

A November statement from the group “Defend Public Health” flagged a change on the CDC’s website that has changed recently to say that it cannot be conclusively stated that vaccines don’t cause autism, due to a lack of research that would bolster those conclusions.

Dr. Peter Lipson, a primary care provider, said at the Defend Public Health press conference today that when patients or those around him ask where they can [Read More]

Public Health Professionals Ask State Gov To Work Against Fed Gov Measures2026-01-25T11:40:59-05:00

Complaints About Gaps in Medicare Advantage Networks Are Common. Federal Enforcement Is Rare

By SUSAN JAFFE

Along with the occasional aches and pains, growing older can bring surprise setbacks and serious diseases. Longtime relationships with doctors people trust often make even bad news more tolerable. Losing that support — especially during a health crisis — can be terrifying. That’s why little-known federal requirements are supposed to protect people with privately run Medicare Advantage coverage when contract disputes lead their health care providers and insurers to part ways.

But government documents obtained by KFF Health News show the agency overseeing Medicare Advantage does little to enforce long-standing rules intended to ensure about 35 million plan members can see doctors in the first place.

In response to a [Read More]

Complaints About Gaps in Medicare Advantage Networks Are Common. Federal Enforcement Is Rare2026-01-25T11:40:59-05:00

Waning Immunity and Falling Vaccination Rates Fuel Pertussis Outbreaks

By CELINE GOUNDER

Rates of pertussis, also known as whooping cough, are surging in Texas, Florida, California, Oregon, and other states and localities across the country.

The outbreaks are fueled by falling vaccination rates, fading immunity, and delays in public health tracking systems, according to interviews with state and federal health officials. Babies too young to be fully vaccinated are most at risk.

“Pertussis cases increase in a cyclical fashion driven by waning immunity, but the size of the outbreak and the potential for severe outcomes in children who cannot be vaccinated can be mitigated by high coverage and good communication to folks at risk,” said Demetre Daskalakis, a former head of the Centers [Read More]

Waning Immunity and Falling Vaccination Rates Fuel Pertussis Outbreaks2026-01-25T11:41:00-05:00

CMS Issues 2026 Physician Fee Schedule Promoting Primary Care, Behavioral Health and Chronic Disease Management

By ROLF LOWE
Wachler & Associates, P.C.

On October 31, 2025, The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the final rule for the physician fee schedule (PFS) for calendar year (CY) 2026. The PFS is updated and published annually in the Federal Register. In addition to setting prices for Medicare reimbursement, the PFS also includes updated payment and coverage policies for Medicare reimbursable services and supplies, and the implementation of provisions from various Congressional Acts that have been passed over the previous years. The final rule adopted most of what was included in the proposed rule when it was released in July.

In a press release from CMS released on the [Read More]

CMS Issues 2026 Physician Fee Schedule Promoting Primary Care, Behavioral Health and Chronic Disease Management2026-01-25T11:41:00-05:00
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