Join Us for the 2022 Health Law Section Annual CLE Program

Iain StaufferBy Iain Stauffer 

The last few years have seen dramatic changes in health care. The NCBA Health Law Section’s Annual CLE Program will kick off with a presentation by Dr. Robert Saunders, a Senior Director of Research at Duke University’s Margolis Center for Health Policy, addressing recent innovations and their impact on the future of the health care industry.

Please join your health law colleagues around the state for our annual CLE program, Friday, April 22, 2022, which includes this exciting presentation, as well as presentations involving the expanding role of telemedicine, a panel discussion on the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on employment law, a session addressing privacy and data compliance challenges, and a discussion regarding how lawyers can maintain emotional wellness in our demanding field.

This year’s program – “Change Can Happen Fast – Bring an Umbrella” – will offer an in-person live program and a live Webcast! You can receive 5.5 total CLE credits, including 1.0 hour of Substance Abuse/Mental Health credit. Register for the event here.

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Now Available On-Demand: 2021 Health Law Section Annual CLE Program

Greetings, Health Law Section Members! For those of you who were not available to join us for our annual CLE program on April 23, 2021, we have great news – the program is now available to watch on-demand! Watch sessions on your lunch hour, on the weekend, or even from the beach.

You can purchase the entire CLE program (6.25 credit hours, including 1 hour of technology credit), or just the individual sessions of interest to you. This year’s program, “The New Normal is That Nothing is Normal,” is a fantastic program covering changes to Stark and Anti-Kickback, telehealth opportunities, health care internal investigations, best practices for effective compliance programs, and health care policy. Please follow this link to learn more and register: 2021 Health Law Section Annual CLE Program On-Demand.

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Join Us For The 2021 Health Law Section Annual CLE Program

Internal investigations have become larger and more complex, particularly in the health care industry, which presents unique risks of legal and regulatory pitfalls. The NCBA Health Law Section’s annual CLE program will include a presentation by Pearlynn Houck and Jonathan Krisko, who will discuss best practices in conducting health care-related internal investigations and the range of issues that may arise including privilege, document retention and preservation, confidentiality, employment-related complexities, and additional issues brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Join Us For The 2021 Health Law Section Annual CLE Program

While providers navigate a sea of COVID-19 related waivers and exceptions, significant changes to the federal Stark Law, Anti-Kickback Statute and Civil Monetary Penalties Law will shape provider collaboration and the fraud and abuse landscape for years to come. The NCBA Health Law Section’s annual CLE program will include a presentation by Kelsey Jernigan and Steve Pine, who will discuss how the long-awaited Final Rules contain significant accommodations for value-based care models, while modernizing the regulations in an aim to align with the current health care industry. Ms. Jernigan and Mr. Pine will explore how the health care industry can utilize these accommodations to pursue value-based care in a post-COVID-19 environment.

Please join your health law colleagues around the state for our annual CLE program, Friday, April 23, 2021, which includes this discussion about changes to the federal Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute, as well as presentations involving telehealth opportunities, managing health care internal investigations, effective compliance programs, and health care policy developments.

This year’s program – “The New Normal Is That Nothing Is Normal” – will be entirely virtual, so you can join us from your office, home, or anywhere with wi-fi! You can receive 6 total CLE credits, including 1.0 hour of Technology Training. If you register by Friday, April 23, you can take advantage of early bird pricing. Register for the CLE here.

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Join Us For The 2021 Health Law Section Annual CLE Program

COVID-19 has accelerated the adoption and deployment of remote diagnostic (telehealth) services, and at the same time has created opportunities for health care fraud and the proliferation of cybercrime throughout the health care industry. The NCBA Health Law Section’s annual CLE program will include a panel presentation by Barry Herrin, Jenny Markham, and Allen O’Rourke, who will discuss how health care providers have operationalized telehealth in their service offerings, continuing challenges in telehealth reimbursement, the growth of telehealth-enabled fraud, the impact of cybercrime on the increased “attack surface” created by telehealth, and adjustments required due to more workplaces being converted to “work from home” and away from traditional office environments.

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Ketan Soni Presents “The New Community Platform”

By Ketan Soni

What You Need to Know About the New Community Platform

This year, the NCBA has switched to a new online community platform. This new community platform for Sections, Divisions and Councils offers many more features than the previous system. Below is a summary of the basics and what you need to know to utilize this platform and its features.

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The Role of Compliance in Government Enforcement

SPONSORED CONTENT

By Shannon Sumner
Governmental enforcement activity is on the rise, and improved coordination among enforcement bodies is meant to “help to identify culpable individuals and hold them accountable.”  With this increase in enforcement actions, it is imperative that compliance remains top-of-mind. Effective compliance programs can not only serve as shields against potential risks, but they also provide a strong defense against government inquiry and/or enforcement.

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New Resource for Low-Cost Health Care and Related Legal Services in the Triangle!

By Lori Jessee

Last year, the Health Law Section was thrilled to work with the Carolina Health Law Organization (CHLO) at the UNC School of Law in expanding the Section’s Access to Affordable Care Project to the Triangle area.  This work will help so many people in need of medical care—care that is too often out of reach.  The students have done an amazing job and we are incredibly proud of their work.

Thank you to the members of CHLO, along with Professor Richard Saver, Arch T. Allen Distinguished Professor, University of North Carolina School of Law.  We also greatly appreciate the North Carolina Society of Healthcare Attorneys in its generous grant funding for this project.

The students have compiled a great resource that is now in print, both Spanish and English, and online for easy access: https://go.unc.edu/CHLO19.  The students are also working to distribute booklets to sites across Chapel Hill, Durham, and Raleigh (i.e. community centers, libraries, homeless shelters, women’s centers, clinics, rape crises centers, social service nonprofits, etc.) to reach their target communities.  Additional booklets are available upon request.

This article explains more about the associated grant award and project, and also links to the resource online:

https://law.unc.edu/news/2018/07/health-law-grant-low-income-medical-resource/.

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Oral argument scheduled in hospital-physician “unfair trade” case

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By Tara Muller

Heads up, North Carolina hospitals and doctors! On Wednesday, September 30, the North Carolina Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Hamlet v. Hernandez. The Court’s decision may have a significant impact on the way physicians work and negotiate with hospitals in North Carolina, and could have ripple effects extending to employment practices in other industries.

Background

A hospital system hired Dr. Pedro Hernandez as an independent contractor and gave him hospital privileges. The contract had a 36-month term and provided that Dr. Hernandez could choose to become an employee of the hospital 18 months into the contract term.

When his private practice failed, Dr. Hernandez tried to exercise his option to be hired as an employee. The hospital did not send him a new contract of employment but apparently believed that his original agreement encompassed the “employment” option. However, Dr. Hernandez began looking for work elsewhere and shut down his practice more than a year before the end of his contract period with the hospital.

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Still Time To Register: 2019 Health Law Section Annual Meeting and CLE

By Iain Stauffer

It is not too late to register for the Health Law Section Annual Meeting and CLE program, “Navigating Healthcare Challenges for 2019:  Alternative Payment Models and Behavioral Health Issues,” which will take place at the NC Bar Center in Cary on Friday, March 8.  The CLE will provide 6 total CLE credits, including 1.00 substance abuse/mental health.  If you are not able to make it to the NC Bar Center in person on Friday, you can register for the webcast.

Registration information can be accessed here. For more information about the CLE and agenda, please refer to the online brochure.

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