On February 11, eight Democratic Senators sent a letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), asking the two entities to work together on antitrust guidance for the Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) that will soon be created under the new healthcare law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).
Read More Healthcare News from Capitol Hill and the Department of Health and Human Services – February 22, 2011
Federal Legislative Developments
U.S. Representatives and Insurers Request Delay of Decisions Affecting Insurers Under Dodd-Frank Act
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
Last week, U.S. Representatives and a group of large insurance companies sent letters to U.S. Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, and other key lawmakers requesting that decisions affecting insurers under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) be postponed until all appointments are made to the newly created Financial Stability Oversight Council (the “Council”). …
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Obama Proposes Tax on Excess Reinsurance Premiums paid by Cedents to Offshore Affiliates
President Barack Obama’s recently released Budget of the U.S. Government for the Fiscal Year 2012 (the “Proposed 2012 Budget”) would disallow the deduction U.S. cedents are currently permitted to take for “excess non-taxed” reinsurance premiums paid to their foreign affiliates. The Proposed 2012 Budget provides no further detail regarding the proposed disallowance, but projects that the disallowance would reduce the U.S. deficit by over $2.6 billion by 2021. …
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Healthcare News from Capitol Hill and the Department of Health and Human Services – February 7, 2011
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
On January 25, lawmakers in both the House and Senate introduced companion bills that would immediately repeal the $20 billion tax on medical devices that was included in the new healthcare reform law – the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). …
Read More Healthcare News from Capitol Hill and the Department of Health and Human Services – February 7, 2011
Healthcare News from Capitol Hill and the Department of Health and Human Services – January 24, 2011
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
On January 7, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a proposed rule to establish a value-based purchasing (VBP) program to reward hospitals for providing safe, high-quality care. The program would provide higher reimbursements to hospitals performing well on quality measures relating to both patient experience and clinical process of care, or to hospitals making performance improvements in those areas. …
Read More Healthcare News from Capitol Hill and the Department of Health and Human Services – January 24, 2011
Healthcare News From Capitol Hill and The Department of Health and Human Services – December 20, 2010
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
Lawmakers worked to complete their legislative “to do” list during the lame duck session of Congress, including tax relief legislation, a continuing resolution to keep the government running into next year in the absence of regular FY 2011 appropriations bills, and a host of other end-of-session priorities. In health-related news, such priorities included a one year patch to prevent deep reimbursement cuts from impacting physicians. In addition, two legal challenges to the new healthcare reform law also made headlines last week. …
Read More Healthcare News From Capitol Hill and The Department of Health and Human Services – December 20, 2010
Congress Passes Act to Exclude Attorneys, Other Professionals From Reach of Red Flags Rule
On December 8, 2010, the United States House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 3987, the Red Flag Program Clarification Act of 2010, to exempt lawyers, doctors, accountants, and other professionals from the Red Flags* Rule. Having been approved by both Houses of Congress, the Act requires only President Obama’s signature to become law. …
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Healthcare Update: Healthcare News From Capitol Hill and The Department of Health and Human Services – December 6, 2010
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
Lawmakers returned to Washington last week to continue the lame-duck session of the 111th Congress, clearing a short-term solution to the pending Medicare cuts for physicians. Meanwhile, the President’s bipartisan fiscal commission finalized and released a report aimed at greatly reducing the federal deficit, though the details of the plan proved to be unpopular among those affected by the corresponding spending cuts. …
Read More Healthcare Update: Healthcare News From Capitol Hill and The Department of Health and Human Services – December 6, 2010
Complimentary Webinar entitled Suspicious Activity Reports: How and When to Write Them
Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge is holding a Complimentary Webinar entitled Suspicious Activity Reports: How and When to Write Them, on December 16, 2012 from noon to 1:00 PM EST. …
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SEC Issues First Progress Report on Convergence of Global Accounting Standards
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
Posted in Federal Legislative Developments, Regulatory
Earlier this year, the leadership at the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) directed its staff at the Office of the Chief Accountant to develop a Work Plan to consider the convergence of the U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Standards (“GAAP”) and the International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”). …
Read More SEC Issues First Progress Report on Convergence of Global Accounting Standards