Medicare reimbursement and coverage policies for cellular and tissue-based products (CTPs), often referred to as skin substitutes, are changing significantly in 2026. On October 31, 2025, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published a final rule announcing that it would be bolstering reimbursement requirements, documentation expectations, and oversight for CTP utilization, effective for calendar year…Read More
As of February 16, 2026, all covered entities under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) that receive or maintain substance use disorder (SUD) patient records were required to update their notice of privacy practices (NPP) to include information addressing the modified confidentiality of SUD patient records regulations, known as Part 2. Specifically,…Read More
A version of this article was published by The Daily Record on June 22, 2026. The Maryland General Assembly’s 2026 Legislative Session concluded with the enactment of many health care laws that will impact health care facilities, providers, insurers, and patients in the State. Here are some of the highlights from the 2026 Session. Health Care Facility Operations and…Read More
You have just shaken hands on an agreement to buy or sell your health care practice, which includes Maryland real estate. You have agreed on the purchase price and the other relevant terms of the deal. But then you wonder: What will the recording taxes be? Is there any way to reduce them? Who will…Read More
AI is everywhere, and in many cases, it is an advantage actively to incorporate AI into daily life. But, by choosing to engage with large language models, such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and others, you could be giving up the significant legal protection of attorney-client privilege. Attorney-client privilege protects certain communications between a client and…Read More
On June 18, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas declared parts of the HIPAA Privacy Rule to Support Reproductive Health Care Privacy unlawful, in Carmen Purl v. HHS. This decision is the latest in a long series of legal battles over access to reproductive health care in America, and providers will…Read More
Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act (EKRA) is a federal law that prohibits the knowing and willful payment or offer of remuneration to induce a referral of individuals to a recovery home, clinical treatment facility, or a laboratory for items or services covered by all health care benefit programs, including but not limited to Medicare, Medicaid and private…Read More
In Chavez-Deremer v. Med. Staffing of America, the federal appellate court, with jurisdiction for Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, recently affirmed a trial court judgment that a staffing agency (Steadfast) misclassified more than 1,000 nurses as independent contractors instead of employees. The appellate court affirmed the lower court’s award of $4.8 million…Read More
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) became law on July 4, 2025. This is the second article in a series of articles about OBBBA, and discusses the significant changes to Medicaid eligibility that will take place over the next three years. The changes, most of which will not be implemented until 2027, will decrease the number…Read More
In 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) promulgated a nationwide rule banning most non-competition agreements. After more than a year of litigation holding up enforcement of the FTC’s rule, the Trump Administration on September 5, 2025, announced that it will dismiss its attempts to overturn the injunctions that ban the enforcement of the rule. Surprisingly, however, the…Read More