Tuesday, January 23, 2024

JAMA On-line: Scorn for Approach of Texas Supreme Court and AG in Cases Involving Exceptions to Abortion Ban

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In an excellent on-line (and free) commentary in JAMA (Jan. 22, 2024), three Harvard authors ask the question: "Whose Responsibility I...

JAMA: Increased Depression & Anxiety in Trigger States After Dobbs Decision

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In a free article in the Journal of the American Medical Association ( JAMA. 2024;331(4):294-301. doi:10.1001/jama.2023.25599 ) (PDF), rese...
Friday, January 05, 2024

Donald Trump and the Perils of Practicing Medicine Without a License

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Hydrochloroquine for COVID? Remember when that was a thing? From The Messenger (Jan. 4): In a study published this week in the journal Biom...
Thursday, January 04, 2024

How Much Does the Fifth Circuit Care About Public Health?

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The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has handed down a couple of decisions this week that surprised me a lot (except that this 5th Circuit is th...
Wednesday, January 03, 2024

Four New Advisory Opinions from HHS-OIG

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On Jan. 3, HHS's Office of Inspector-General (OIG) released four new Advisory Opinions, all apparently finalized at the end of December:...

Physician Acquitted in $15M Healthcare Fraud Prosecution

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A federal jury in Maryland convicted the physician on five counts of healthcare fraud in connection with his billing practices for level 4 C...
Tuesday, January 02, 2024

UPDATED: Considerations on the Use of Neonatal and Pediatric Resuscitation Guidelines for Hospitalized Neonates and Infants

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It's always a big deal when the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Heart Association  publish an update on the use of resus...
Sunday, December 17, 2023

Medicare Cognitive Assessments: Yet Another Example of Mental Health's Second-Class Status

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A new GAO report -- "Medicare Cognitive Assessments: Utilization Tripled between 2018 and 2022, but Challenges Remain"  (Dec. 11) ...
Saturday, December 16, 2023

Ruth Marcus: Calling Out the Texas Supreme Court for its Opinion in the Kate Cox Case

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Ruth Marcus is one of the most acute observers of political cultural and political life in this country. Now add legal commentary to her too...
Friday, December 15, 2023

Kaiser: Who Decides When a Patient Qualifies for an Abortion Ban Exception? Doctors vs. the Courts

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 Here's a thoughtful brief from the Kaiser Family Foundation on abortion-ban exceptions around the country. It starts with a quick summ...
Tuesday, December 12, 2023

Texas Supreme Court Puts an Exclamation Point on Kate Cox's Doomed Quest for Reproductive Health Care in Texas

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Late yesterday (12/11) the Supreme Court of Texas issued a seven-page per curiam   opinion that reversed the trial court's order in the...
Monday, December 11, 2023

Kate Cox Leaves Texas to Obtain an Abortion

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I put up a series of posts last week to illustrate the tortuous path taken by Kate Cox in order to terminate a pregnancy that posed a threat...
Sunday, December 10, 2023

Blog Post #1,000: Celebrating Emily Dickinson's 193rd Birthday

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Taking a break from Health Care Law for this special blog post. But do read on for the health care tie-in. Promise. From Day 1 -- 20 years a...

Hospital Discharge Planning: It Takes a SYSTEM

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On Thursday (Dec. 7), I posted about a Catholic hospital system in California that has taken to suing patients for trespass when they refus...
Saturday, December 09, 2023

Texas Supreme Court Stays Trial Court's Abortion Order

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The court entered an "administrative stay" pending review of the TxAG's request for mandamus in the Cox  case. In almost any ...
Friday, December 08, 2023

A Further Comment on the Texas AG's Threat to Hospitals, Doctors, and Anyone Else

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As noted earlier today, on Thursday the Texas AG's office responded immediately to the TRO enjoining the state from suing or prosecuting...

DFW Woman Obtains Court Order Allowing an Abortion, A First Since Dobbs and SB 8

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The story is all over the news, so for now I will provide a few links to the news coverage and to some of the key documents in the case: New...
Thursday, December 07, 2023

What Is a Hospital to Do When a Patient Refuses a Discharge?

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Here's the scenario: A patient is admitted to the hospital for treatment. Treatment goes well, and the patient can safely be discharged ...
Wednesday, December 06, 2023

Latest Fraud Enfocement Actions include $148 Million Scheme

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Here's the latest rundown from USDOJ, with some details on a couple of the most notable actions: Lab Owner Pleads Guilty To $1.7 Million...
Tuesday, December 05, 2023

What's the Test for Causation in a False Claims Act Suit Based Upon the Anti-Kickback Act?

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This is an issue only a lawyer could love, but there's already a circuit split, and two federal judges in the Massachusetts District hav...