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So far Paul Natinsky has created 402 blog entries.

As Trump Punts on Medical Debt, Battle Over Patient Protections Moves to States

By NOAM N. LEVEY, KATHERYN HOUGHTON & ARIELLE ZIONTS

With the Trump administration scaling back federal efforts to protect Americans from medical bills they can’t pay, advocates for patients and consumers have shifted their work to contain the nation’s medical debt problem to state Capitols.

Despite progress in some mostly blue states this year, however, recent setbacks in more conservative legislatures underscore the persistent challenges in strengthening patient protections.

Bills to shield patients from medical debt failed this year in Indiana, Montana, Nevada, South Dakota, and Wyoming in the face of industry opposition. And advocates warn that states need to step up as millions of Americans are expected to lose insurance coverage because of [Read More]

As Trump Punts on Medical Debt, Battle Over Patient Protections Moves to States2026-01-25T11:41:02-05:00

CMS Focuses On Telehealth, Skin Substitutes In ’26 Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule

By DANIEL AYYASH, ESQ.
Wachler & Associates, P.C.

Recently, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid  released the calendar year (CY) 2026 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) Proposed Rule, introducing sweeping changes to Medicare Part B payment policy. Among the most significant updates are those addressing Medicare telehealth policy and a restructuring of how Medicare pays for skin substitute products commonly used by wound care providers.

 

Medicare Telehealth Policy Proposed Changes

 

Changes to the Medicare Telehealth Services List

 

In the Proposed Rule, CMS proposes simplifying the current five-step process to determine if a service qualifies for the Medicare Telehealth Services List. Under the new process, CMS would only keep three criteria: the service must be separately [Read More]

CMS Focuses On Telehealth, Skin Substitutes In ’26 Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule2026-01-25T11:41:02-05:00

Imagination Is Essential for Good Legal Defense

By ERICA ERMAN
Dickinson Wright

Growing up, my family played an unusual game around the dinner table. After sharing about our days, my dad (also a health care attorney) would ask my sisters and me to argue. He’d pick a topic, such as why my younger sister should have a later bedtime than me, or what movie we should rent at Blockbuster, and then we’d each be given roughly three minutes to present our arguments and another minute for rebuttal. The most challenging (and fun) part of the game was that we always had to argue the side other than what we naturally would have wanted. As it turns out, my dad [Read More]

Imagination Is Essential for Good Legal Defense2026-01-25T11:41:03-05:00

Lansing Lines

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

Study Shows Opioid Harm Reduction Reduces Deaths, Hep C, Hospitalizations

A new Department of Health and Human Services study showed 37 harm reduction agencies and programs have reduced overdose deaths, hepatitis C infections, and hospitalizations of addicted people.

The study indicated that more than 550 people were saved through the use of naloxone in 2024 and that there has been a 36 percent reduction in overdose deaths between 2023 and 2024. Michigan has given out more than 1.3 million naloxone kits and nearly 34,000 overdoses have been reversed since the launch of the Naloxone Direct Portal.

“These are not [Read More]

Lansing Lines2026-01-25T11:41:03-05:00

NIH Cuts, Which Way Will The Wind Blow?

By PAUL NATINSKY
Like the rest of the cuts by chainsaw, the 15-percent cap on indirect costs for National Institutes of Health projects is a sharp-edged reduction in spending. Purportedly targeted at reducing waste and inefficiency, the indiscriminate reduction belies that mission.

The most rudimentary of analyses would have proved the approach infeasible. About $9 billion of the NIH’s $35 billion in grants for 2023 were for indirect costs, which include equipment and office space, technology, research security, data processing, biosafety, financial and accounting support, and legal and compliance support. Indirect costs average around 28%, with some over 60%, according to NIH-reported numbers. The costs are negotiated on a project-by-project basis.

The proposed [Read More]

NIH Cuts, Which Way Will The Wind Blow?2025-04-05T17:54:48-04:00

The CDC Buried A Measles Forecast That Stressed The Need For Vaccinations

By PATRICIA CALLAHAN

This story first appeared in ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.

Leaders at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ordered staff this week not to release their experts’ assessment that found the risk of catching measles is high in areas near outbreaks where vaccination rates are lagging, according to internal records reviewed by ProPublica.

In an aborted plan to roll out the news, the agency would have emphasized the importance of vaccinating people against the highly contagious and potentially deadly disease that has spread to 19 states, the records show.

A CDC spokesperson told ProPublica in a written statement that the agency decided against releasing [Read More]

The CDC Buried A Measles Forecast That Stressed The Need For Vaccinations2025-04-05T17:52:26-04:00

Bipartisan Efforts Underway To Make Michigan A Permanent Member Of The Interstate Medical Licensure Compact

By JESSE ADAM MARKOS, ESQ.
Wachler & Associates, P.C.

Michigan is currently facing a shortage of physicians, especially in the state’s many rural and underserved areas.  In response, efforts are being made to remove barriers to entry for high-quality providers, like the often-confusing licensing process across state lines.  More specifically, the Michigan Legislature has recently taken action to renew Michigan’s standing as part of the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (“ILMC”) and to ensure that it can remain within the compact permanently.  The ILMC streamlines the licensing process for physicians seeking to practice across state lines and has proven successful in increasing access to care.  However, Michigan’s participation in the compact is currently [Read More]

Bipartisan Efforts Underway To Make Michigan A Permanent Member Of The Interstate Medical Licensure Compact2025-04-05T17:50:25-04:00

Federal Enforcement of Mental Health Parity: Key Updates and Challenges Ahead

By NICOLETTE TABER
Dickinson Wright

On January 17, 2025, the U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury (“the Departments”) issued their 2024 Report to Congress on the enforcement and implementation of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (“MHPAEA”). This regularly required report follows the Departments’ Final Rules issued in September 2024. (For more information on the September 2024 Final Rules, click here to read my previous article on this topic).

The 142-page report to Congress highlights the Departments’ efforts to strengthen and enforce the protections of MHPAEA, the Departments’ efforts to raise awareness of MHPAEA by working with federal and state partners, and areas of [Read More]

Federal Enforcement of Mental Health Parity: Key Updates and Challenges Ahead2025-04-05T17:48:43-04:00

LANSING LINES

Possible Federal Cuts To Medicaid, Education Always On Flood’s Mind

State Treasurer Rachael Eubanks and State Budget Office Director Jen Flood said they have been watching the federal government “daily” to see if any changes could hit what the state expects in their 2026 budget.

Speaking at an Institute for Public Policy and Social Research (IPPSR) event, Flood said she has seen proposed federal cuts to nearly $900 million in Medicaid funding and a possible 10 percent removal from education in federal grant funding because of the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education.

“I can say Medicaid is on my mind every day right now. Michigan is one of the states that actually draws [Read More]

LANSING LINES2025-04-05T17:46:42-04:00

Trump Election Creates Unpredictable Environment For Healthcare

Trump Election Creates Unpredictable Environment For Healthcare

In the uncertain times that lie ahead, seismic regulatory changes flavored with reactionary populist notes frame the environment awaiting the healthcare community.

It’s difficult to figure how and when a Trump presidency will affect healthcare nation. At this early stage, speculation is the only prism available and Trump’s policy detail is vague at best.

The Affordable Care Act
The fate of the Affordable Care Act is as good a place to start as any. Trump has been promising to scrap the ACA and replace it with something better since early in his first term. His latest pronouncement down the stretch in ’24 is that he and his [Read More]

Trump Election Creates Unpredictable Environment For Healthcare2024-11-14T14:24:05-05:00
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