A new law, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, went into effect on February 3, 2026, issuing new Medicare reimbursement guidelines for off-campus provider-based hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs). As of January 1, 2028, hospitals will be required to make certain operational changes to maintain OPPS reimbursement eligibility for their off-campus provider-based locations. These include such measures as
Enforcement Ramps Up on Patient Right of Access: What Providers Need to Know
This post is part of our The Top 2025 Privacy and Security Issues Still Shaping Healthcare series, in which our team of attorneys provides essential strategies and insights for healthcare privacy and security.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) has long been the cornerstone of patient privacy and data protection. Among its most patient-centric provisions is the Right of Access rule, which guarantees individuals timely access to their medical records. This right is not just a regulatory requirement—it’s a fundamental principle of patient empowerment, enabling individuals to make informed decisions about their health.
New Proposed Healthcare Transaction Requirements and Mini-Stark Law in Colorado
The Colorado General Assembly is back in session and has introduced legislation (SB26-041) that, if enacted, would create new notification requirements and antitrust review processes for healthcare transactions. While Colorado already requires state-level notification of transactions that trigger federal notifications under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act and notification of certain hospital transactions under the Hospital Transfer Act (“HTA”) of 2023, the proposed bill would create new notification requirements for a broader set of healthcare transactions, and would authorize the Colorado attorney general (“COAG”) to block or delay closing of transactions. The proposed bill also expands the scope of hospital transactions that must be reported under the HTA.
Court Temporarily Blocks 340B Rebate Model Pilot Program
A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction halting the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) 340B Rebate Model Pilot Program, which was scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026. The December 29, 2025 ruling temporarily prevents implementation of the rebate program that would have fundamentally changed how safety-net hospitals and clinics purchase discounted drugs under the 340B Drug Pricing Program.
State v. Johnson: Wyoming Supreme Court Overturns Abortion Restrictions—The Footnotes Tell the Real Story
The Wyoming Supreme Court began the year 2026 with a landmark decision in State v. Johnson, 2026 WY 1, delivering a ruling with implications that extend far beyond its immediate outcome. While headlines will focus on the Court’s decision to strike down Wyoming’s comprehensive abortion restrictions—the Life is a Human Right Act (“Life Act”)[1] and the Medication Ban[2]—as unconstitutional, the true significance lies elsewhere. The Court held that Wyoming’s constitutional amendment guaranteeing adults the right to make their own healthcare decisions is a fundamental right protected by the highest level of judicial scrutiny.
This holding may ultimately have more far-reaching consequences, setting the stage for future challenges to a wide range of healthcare regulations across Wyoming.
Attorney General Pam Bondi’s Memo Concerning Healthcare Treatment for Transgender Minors: Implications for Providers
Recently, Attorney General Pam Bondi purportedly issued an internal memorandum in response to Executive Order 14187 (“Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation”) concerning the treatment of transgender minors by medical practitioners, hospitals, clinics, and pharmaceutical companies. The memo set forth guidance for all Department of Justice (DOJ) employees to investigate individuals and entities who provide gender-affirming care to minor patients. To be clear, the memorandum—which has been posted in various locations on the internet and widely reported on by various media outlets but has not been verified as authentic by Husch Blackwell—is an internal policy statement directed to DOJ personnel and is not law. While it purports to issue “guidelines” pursuant to an executive order from the President, that executive order is itself under scrutiny (and has been partially enjoined).
Forget the False Claims Act—How a Virginia Hospital Got Criminally Charged
On January 8, 2025, a federal grand jury in Virginia returned an indictment against a hospital. This rare criminal event in healthcare alleges that Chesapeake Regional Medical Center conspired to defraud the United States and committed healthcare fraud. Hospitals are almost never criminally charged, as federal investigations into hospitals are nearly always civil proceedings under the False Claims Act. This post explains how this hospital’s alleged actions rose to the level that merited criminal indictment.
New York State Department of Health Adopts Hospital Cybersecurity Regulations
Keypoint: With the increased frequency and severity of cyberattacks against healthcare systems, state and federal agencies strive to improve cybersecurity controls with varied success.
In November 2023, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced proposed regulations that would be the first state regulations for hospitals in New York. The governor described the proposed regulation as a “nation-leading blueprint” that would complement the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Security Rule enforced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Increasing Colorado Hospital Reimbursement by Paying to the Upper Payment Limit
This post is the first in a series dedicated to Colorado’s Medicaid finance and payment systems, challenges faced by those programs, and opportunities for expansion.
The Colorado Healthcare Affordability and Sustainability Enterprise (CHASE) oversees Colorado’s hospital provider tax and the use of those taxes to support Medicaid supplemental payments. CHASE uses the largest portion of those taxes to generate payments targeting the cost shortfalls from treating Medicaid and uninsured patients. Broadly speaking, federal regulations (see 42 C.F.R. §§ 447.272, 447.321) allow each class of institutional providers to be paid for Medicaid services (on a fee-for-service basis) to a level that approximates what could have been paid under Medicare payment principles. This is known as the Upper Payment Limit (UPL). For the past several years, CHASE has limited these payments to less than the full amount permitted by federal law out of concerns about potential overpayments and statewide recoupment risks. The Colorado Hospital Association (CHA) is currently advocating for CHASE to increase payments to 100% of the UPL—i.e. “the full UPL.”
Federal Judge Orders Whistleblower Who Filed a “Frivolous” Qui Tam to Pay Over $1 Million for Defendants’ Attorneys’ Fees
Most experienced False Claims Act (FCA) practitioners are all too familiar with the statutory provision requiring defendants to pay whistleblowers’ attorneys’ fees at the end of FCA cases. What is less commonly known is the provision that grants defendants their attorneys’ fees in certain circumstances.
One whistleblower learned about that provision the hard way, when on March 14, 2024, a Mississippi federal judge ordered that he pay over $1 million to cover the defendants’ attorneys’ fees, following grant of summary judgment to defendants in what the judge labeled a “frivolous” qui tam. This blog post looks at the case that led to such a large attorneys’ fees award and considers the types of cases in which these efforts are wise.