March 19, 2024 The Corporate Transparency Act (the “CTA”), effective January 1, 2024, is a new federal law that requires many small businesses to make informational filings with the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”). The CTA is intended to prevent illegal activity through anonymous shell companies by requiring certain privately held entities [...]
Florida Patient Self-Referral Act Change in Level of Physician Supervision Effective July 1, 2023 The Florida Patient Self-Referral Act of 1992 (the “Florida Act”) prohibits a health care provider from referring a patient for the provision of designated health services or any other health care items or service to an entity in which the [...]
Direct-to-consumer DNA testing kits such as 23andMe and Ancestry.com allow consumers to learn about their risks of developing certain diseases and investigate their family tree by submitting their DNA sample containing their genetic information. These tests have become very popular because they are convenient, inexpensive, and easy to use. However, they also raise privacy concerns [...]
What to Do if Your License is Under Investigation When individuals obtain their licenses to practice their healthcare profession, they typically don’t contemplate being the subject of an investigation for possible licensure violations. As such, they are often unprepared for how to respond when they receive a Notice of Investigation from the Florida Department of [...]
Keeping up with the various federal agency guidance and state mandates regarding COVID-19 can be overwhelming for healthcare providers especially when such guidance often changes daily. Healthcare providers need to be aware of newly enacted Florida laws regarding COVID-19 which were effective July 1, 2021. Vaccine Passports Section 381.00316, Florida Statutes (“COVID-19 Vaccine Documentation”) prohibits [...]
Over the years I received many questions about how I was able to successfully sell my business. While there are many components to consider, I believe it boils down to the following three keys: 1. Time -- As Abraham Lincoln once said, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend [...]
One of the most common negotiating tools is the use of contractual limitations on liability to establish the risk each party undertakes in an agreement. Each party always wants to limit its own risk, while at the same time requiring the other party to maintain full liability. Negotiating these types of limitations of liability provisions [...]
We are often involved with assisting companies raising capital, and these companies can be at various stages of their business life cycles. For example, a start-up company might be raising capital for a wide variety of reasons (such as hiring a sales force, product development, etc.) and a middle-stage company might be raising capital for [...]
The successful sale of a healthcare practice largely depends on business operations during the growth stage of the business. Buyers understand that efficient, compliant operations during the growth stage can lead to profitability and expansion post-transaction. Unfortunately, many practices cut corners to reduce short-term expenses when growing the business. Cutting corners may save money in [...]
A Right of First Offer (“ROFO”) and a Right of First Refusal (“ROFR”) are both contractual obligations that often arise in the context of a lease arrangement or in connection with selling an asset (such as a piece of property). These provisions restrict the assets held or leased by an owner and benefit the holder [...]
On March 19, 2018, Governor Rick Scott signed House Bill 21 into law, which increases the regulation of prescriptions for controlled substances and expands the use of the Florida Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (“PDMP”). This new law became effective on July 1, 2018. Limits for Prescriptions for Controlled Substances for Treatment for Acute Pain Prescriptions [...]
Federal Government scrutiny over healthcare providers’ use of CPT Code Modifier 25 is not new, but we are seeing an uptick in enforcement. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (“OIG”), has targeted the use of Modifier 25 in its yearly work plans. The OIG’s yearly work plans outline the [...]
