The Patient Access and Medicare Protection Act, S. 2425, passed by the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives on December 18, included a provision that could spare physicians and hospitals a 3% Medicare pay cut in 2017 under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' "meaningful use" rules.

On March 11, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published a new five-year cost-cutting pilot for payment for Medicare Part B drugs, which tend to be injectables or infusion products ..

HealthyCT, Inc. has joined the burgeoning ranks of struggling Consumer Operated and Oriented Plans, as the Connecticut Department of Insurance ordered it placed under administrative supervision due to its financial status.

On June 13, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it is postponing the compliance deadline for new rules for the Nutrition Facts Label, previously discussed here.

Advocate Health Care Network, the largest health system in Illinois, has agreed to pay $5.55 million to settle allegations of multiple potential HIPAA violations arising out of three separate data breaches that it reported in 2013.

In June 30, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) released an interim final rule that implements provisions of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (Act) which updated civil monetary penalties assessed or enforced by the DOJ that had not been changed for years.

Under the current ACO model, an ACO's results are measured against an annual cost target based on historical data, rather than on year-over-year improvement.

On May 6, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released an interim final rule, to be officially published on May 11, that revises the rules on two aspects of the Affordable Care Act: special enrollment periods (SEPs) and Consumer Operated and Oriented Plans (CO-OPs).

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has lately been broadcasting its increased attention to, and concern about, HIPAA business associates on a monthly basis.

The long-awaited "Phase 2 HIPAA Audits" by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights (OCR) have begun!

While there are other carriers who underwrite Pollution Legal Liability (PLL) coverage, in the context of its restructuring initiative, AIG has decided that it will no longer be offering PLL policies.

The next step in the process will be for states to decide whether to adopt the revised NAIC Model Act, which may be an uphill battle in states with high HMO penetration.

The New York Department of Financial Services enacted new regulations this week that are aimed to prevent discrimination in auto insurance based upon education or employment.

On June 30, Gov. Christie signed legislation extending the Permit Extension Act for an additional year in those counties most impacted by Superstorm Sandy.

For 2016, the annual exclusion amount for gifts remains at $14,000. The estate, gift and GST tax exemption amount for estates of decedents dying in 2016 and gifts made in 2016 is increased to $5.45 million.

Donors planning their year-end charitable giving may want to consider the potential impact of President-elect Donald Trump's tax plan on the income tax charitable deduction.

In response, the IRS released final regulations on June 11 designed to prohibit taxpayers from circumventing this type of SALT limitation.

This is good news, which removes a concern some had raised about making larger gifts now.

New York Individual Clients partner Warren Whitaker recently released the 2016 edition of U.S. Tax Planning for Non-U.S. Persons and Trusts: An Introductory Outline.

The article examines the substantial risks of cyberattacks that family offices and their clients face.