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Articles 1 - 18 of 18
Full-Text Articles in Law
Advancing Health Care The Old-Fashioned Way, Craig B. Garner
Advancing Health Care The Old-Fashioned Way, Craig B. Garner
Craig B. Garner
Though cutting-edge technology serves as the foundation for modern American healthcare, an accurate measure of progress must consider the occasional conflict between society and science. Even as yesterday’s medical miracles give way to what are now considered “state of the art” practices, it is the duty of health care providers to remain mindful of both sides of the equation, balancing the capabilities of today’s technologies with the needs of today’s patient. If society and science are not in sync, patient care will suffer, and sometimes we can only advance healthcare through old-fashioned methods.
A Brave New Medicare, Craig B. Garner
A Brave New Medicare, Craig B. Garner
Craig B. Garner
Next month the Affordable Care Act turns five, and by all accounts the influence of this historic legislation will forever change the landscape of health care in the United States, regardless of its ultimate fate. As each passing year introduces thousands of new regulatory pages to an already expansive body of federal and state law, praise for what has come to be known as health care reform is only rivaled by the relentless partisan calls for its repeal.
The Problem With Value-Based Purchasing, Craig B. Garner
The Problem With Value-Based Purchasing, Craig B. Garner
Craig B. Garner
From its inception on October 1, 2012, the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (“VBP”) Program shifted Medicare’s paradigm to emphasize performance over costs in determining hospital reimbursement. Reducing the overall Medicare reimbursement to hospitals by an estimated $1.4 billion for Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2015, the VBP Program was quick to secure the attention of the nation’s health care providers. Technically “budget neutral,” the VBP Program will return this same $1.4 billion to hospitals the following year in the form of performance incentives. As the Federal Government waits to assess the accuracy of its prediction, the FY 2015 reduction of 1.50% will finally …
Just As Fragile As A Patient, Craig B. Garner
Just As Fragile As A Patient, Craig B. Garner
Craig B. Garner
The American hospital has evolved greatly over the past 100 years, from the almshouse once visited mainly by the desolate and poor as a last resort to that enigmatic, cutting edge institution which today forms the foundation of modern American health care. Advances in technology and medical science have transformed what were once terminal illnesses into minor health inconveniences, with the real battles against serious health threats typically occurring inside the four walls of a patient’s local hospital.
Medicare: The Perpetual Balance Between Performance And Preservation, Craig B. Garner
Medicare: The Perpetual Balance Between Performance And Preservation, Craig B. Garner
Craig B. Garner
Passed by Congress and signed by President Lyndon Johnson into law in 1965, Medicare has weathered storms from all directions, growing to be the preeminent standard for health insurance in the United States. The idea of losing Medicare as a vital public benefit still remains the single greatest fear with which each passing generation of Americans must contend, and yet, these challenges over the past fifty years, designed to fortify Medicare’s foundation and ensure its longevity, continue to take a toll on the program. The most recent climate of reform includes changes implemented by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care …
Health Care Reform: Walking The Fine Line Between Epic And Tragic, Craig B. Garner
Health Care Reform: Walking The Fine Line Between Epic And Tragic, Craig B. Garner
Craig B. Garner
The recent changes to the core structure of modern American health care are nothing short of epic, rivaled in historic scale only by the introduction of Medicare in 1965. Although each decade over the past 50 years has in some way used government programs and incentives in an attempt to urge health care to undergo recalibration as a means to establish industry stability, by the end of the first decade of the 21st Century it had become evident that health care in the United States was fast becoming unsustainable as it existed. Three years after the Federal Government passed the …
The Evolving Relationships Between Hospital, Physician And Patient In Modern American Healthcare, Craig B. Garner, David Mccabe
The Evolving Relationships Between Hospital, Physician And Patient In Modern American Healthcare, Craig B. Garner, David Mccabe
Craig B. Garner
This article investigates the ways in which the relationships between patient, provider and hospital have evolved in the past fifty years, while paying special attention to the influence of modern health care reform on all parties involved. Using Medicare as the primary standard, the nation’s health care system is examined both historically and in light of recent changes that seek to transition its structure from one that is cost based to an approach that emphasizes performance. It is only through understanding the roots of our health care program that we can make informed decisions designed to improve its future impact …
Proceed With Caution: Matters To Consider For Business Lawyers Transitioning Into Health Care, Craig B. Garner
Proceed With Caution: Matters To Consider For Business Lawyers Transitioning Into Health Care, Craig B. Garner
Craig B. Garner
While the subject of health care law makes headlines daily across the nation, there is still a sizeable chasm between health care lawyers and their business counterparts. Sometimes complicated, health care law is by no means exclusive, and opportunities abound for an able practitioner. Notwithstanding, in today’s climate of reform it is essential that those practicing American health care law honor and obey the hierarchy surrounding its discipline as it struggles to stay afloat amid a rising tide of constitutional, partisan and fiscal challenges. In most states, attorneys are mindful that when venturing into areas of law outside their usual …
The Supreme Court Opens The Road To Health Care Reform, But Will California Meet The Challenge?, Craig B. Garner
The Supreme Court Opens The Road To Health Care Reform, But Will California Meet The Challenge?, Craig B. Garner
Craig B. Garner
This article provides an overview of the landmark 2012 United States Supreme Court decision National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius. Almost 28 months after President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) into law, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of health care reform. Though the underlying arguments set forth in the majority opinion venture deep into the labyrinth of constitutional law and test the traditional boundaries of federalism, the holding itself is clear and concise: the ACA’s individual mandate is constitutional; and the Medicaid expansion provisions found within the ACA survive, but the Federal Government is prohibited …
The Modern Day Compliance Program, Craig B. Garner
The Modern Day Compliance Program, Craig B. Garner
Craig B. Garner
A compliance program bridging the gap between integrity and performance.
The Spectacular Aspect Of Contemporary Health Care, Craig B. Garner
The Spectacular Aspect Of Contemporary Health Care, Craig B. Garner
Craig B. Garner
Abstract: While advances in modern medicine since the introduction of Medicare have in many ways been riveting from a technological, political and sociological standpoint, each new period of change has brought with it a divisiveness that has forced individuals to decide whether the system’s latest step is spectacular in its success or failure. Even as the provision of medicine continues to improve, such a lack of unity has taken its toll on the health care industry, bringing with it a host of sociological and ethical issues that often prevent modern breakthroughs from reaching the greatest number of people. For the …
60 Days To Pay – Has Medicare Reached The Point Of No Return?, Craig B. Garner
60 Days To Pay – Has Medicare Reached The Point Of No Return?, Craig B. Garner
Craig B. Garner
In February the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) clarified an oft quoted existing rule: Providers must return overpayments to Medicare within 60 days “after the date on which the overpayment was identified,” or in the alternative, “the date any corresponding cost report is due, if applicable.” For providers of any size, failure to report and return Medicare overpayments pursuant to these temporal requirements may result in potential liability under the Federal False Claims Act, resulting in substantial monetary penalties and the risk of being denied future claims for reimbursement. The systemic problems facing the Medicare system today should …
Are We Fighting The Wrong Health Care Battle?, Craig B. Garner
Are We Fighting The Wrong Health Care Battle?, Craig B. Garner
Craig B. Garner
Although the United States Supreme Court may have finally put to rest any constitutional disagreements over the Affordable Care Act, the debate over health care is far from settled. It comes as no surprise that the aftereffects of the Court's 5-4 split have already trickled down through nearly every aspect of federal and state government, providing scores of pages of partisan fodder that will ensure both sides have ample stock of rhetoric to flame this debate for years to come. For this reason, now is the time to ask ourselves if the nation's focus is on the wrong questions.
The War On Health Care, Craig B. Garner
The War On Health Care, Craig B. Garner
Craig B. Garner
Throughout history, America’s methods of providing health care have always had an understated yet powerful impact on the way she chooses to wage war. And yet, this may be the first time that health care is itself under siege. Indeed, the specter of war has provided countless opportunities to test society’s mettle in battle, while forcing those in power to prioritize in terms of their country’s health care. As sides are drawn and campaigns evolve, the strategies of combat take shape in ways previously unforeseen. This is certainly true in contemporary America, though in our modern age of reform it …
Adjudicating Health Care Reform By Dissent, Craig B. Garner
Adjudicating Health Care Reform By Dissent, Craig B. Garner
Craig B. Garner
The procedural infrastructure within which the nation’s judicial system operates is as important as the canons of law the Courts espouse. Sometimes, however, courts bypass these procedural tenets without compromising their integrity, often by way of dissenting opinions. On the cusp of a historic moment when it entertains 330 minutes or oral argument on the topic of health care reform, the United States Supreme Court commands the nation’s full attention. Typically known for its stoicism, the Supreme Court recently ruled on another health care related matter, one involving California’s Medicaid program. With what appears to be a majority opinion out …
Health Care Reform: A Time To Wait, Or Expiate?, Craig B. Garner
Health Care Reform: A Time To Wait, Or Expiate?, Craig B. Garner
Craig B. Garner
If Dante Alighieri had written an epic poem describing the recent evolution of American healthcare, it might have much in common with his famous Purgatorio. As the nine U.S. Supreme Court Justices continue deliberation on the fate of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, it is unclear whether our nation's healthcare system is heading toward Inferno or Paradiso. While experts on both sides of the aisle attempt to divine the secret codes shared between Justices over a record-breaking three days of oral argument, the rest of us have little choice but to wait until summer for clarity.
California’S Vanishing Community Hospital: An Endangered Institution, Craig B. Garner
California’S Vanishing Community Hospital: An Endangered Institution, Craig B. Garner
Craig B. Garner
Across the nation, America’s community hospitals are under siege. Once considered indispensable to our health care system, the twenty-first century finds the local hospital fighting an uphill battle against a convergence of factors that favors the sharing of resources by multiple facilities. Rising health care expenses, challenging regulatory hurdles, and a reimbursement structure in the midst of transition all bear some responsibility for the obstacles faced by today’s community hospital. Nowhere is this phenomenon more pronounced than in California, where regular hospital closings amid an ever-growing population stand as incentive for remaining hospitals to team up (or remain teamed up) …
Tracing The Evolution Of American Health Care Through Medicare, Craig B. Garner
Tracing The Evolution Of American Health Care Through Medicare, Craig B. Garner
Craig B. Garner
With President Obama’s health care reform currently under intense partisan scrutiny in the United States, this article is an objective resource for understanding the ways in which Medicare has historically served as a weather vane for charting the changes to the American health care system. During its nearly fifty-year tenure as the standard for the provision of medical care in the U.S., Medicare has evolved in fits and spurts, with its core structure shifting over time in response to changes brought about by the economic and political climate of each decade. It is only by understanding these past revisions, both …