Last week, in Washington v. Barr, the Second Circuit addressed a case seeking to strike down the federal government’s classification of marijuana as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The Court held that plaintiffs had failed to exhaust their administrative remedies before the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Rather than dismissing
Home Health Care Aides Working Twenty-Four Hour Shifts Can Be Paid For Thirteen Hours If Employer Meets Sleep and Meal Time Requirements
Home health care aides working twenty-four hour shifts can be paid for as little as thirteen hours under certain conditions, according to a March ruling from the New York Court of Appeals in Andryeyeva v. New York Health Care, Inc. The Court of Appeals remanded, however, for lower courts to consider whether employers were
NYS 2019-2020 Budget Does Not Provide for Recreational Marijuana Legalization
The New York State budget, which took effect yesterday to start the new fiscal year on Monday, April 1, does not include a plan for the legalization of adult recreational marijuana use. Instead, Governor Cuomo and the New York Legislature intend to work on developing a more concrete plan for the legalization of recreational marijuana
Is the Bankruptcy Code Provision on Disposal of Patient Records Useless?
Section 351 of the Bankruptcy Code permits a health care business in bankruptcy to dispose of patient records if it lacks sufficient funds to pay to store the records in accord with applicable state or federal law. Although section 351 was enacted in 2005, the provision appears to be little used. That’s because the procedures
EDNY False Claims Act Overfill Decision Highlights Importance of Timely Naming All Defendants
EDNY Judge Nina Gershon analyzed several False Claims Act issues in United States ex rel. Omni Healthcare Inc. v. McKesson Corp., ruling on first-to-file, Rule 9(b), and statute of limitations issues.
Relator Omni Healthcare alleged that defendants improperly used “overfill” in vials of injectable drugs. “Overfill” is the amount of a drug in excess
New York Continues To Move Towards Legalization of Recreational Marijuana
On January 15, 2019, Governor Andrew Cuomo delivered his 2019 State of the State Address. Part of his address centered on the legalization of recreational marijuana in New York State.
The Cannabis Regulation and Taxation Act was introduced as part of the Governor’s Executive Budget, which is expected to be acted upon by April
2019 Executive Budget Expands OMIG Oversight Authority
Since the advent of the Medicaid managed care program there has been a lingering question as to when a Medicaid dollar stopped being a Medicaid dollar.
With fee-for-service providers that were paid directly by the Medicaid program, the answer was always clear-cut – each dollar received from the Medicaid program was a Medicaid dollar and
When Should the Appointment of a Patient Care Ombudsman for a Health Care Business in Bankruptcy Be Excused?
When a health care business files for bankruptcy, the appointment of an ombudsman to monitor the quality of patient care and represent the interests of the patients is required unless the bankruptcy court finds that an ombudsman “is not necessary for the protection of patients under the specific facts of the case.” Bankruptcy Code §333(a)(1).
Need For Discretion In Civil DOJ Cases Drives Rosenstein To Modify Yates Memorandum Individual Accountability Policy
In federal criminal investigations, corporate health care providers have faced a Department of Justice increasingly focused on individuals, one that has limited or foreclosed cooperation credit for corporations not providing complete information on all individual involvement. At a conference in late November, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein outlined a modification of these stringent guidelines, to
Marijuana Regulation in New York – A Look Forward to 2019
The Compassionate Care Act has expanded and changed each year since Governor Andrew M. Cuomo signed it into law in 2014 and 2018 was no different.
Among others, one big change that was made to the Medical Marijuana Program was the addition of opioid replacement as a qualifying condition[1] for medical marijuana. As a