20
12, 2022
13
12, 2022
6
10, 2022
9
09, 2022
15
08, 2022
Final Settlement of BCBS Antitrust Class Action Hopes to Increase Competition Among Insurers
This month, a long-standing private antitrust lawsuit against Blue Shield/Blue Cross came to a conclusion after a decade of litigation. After a favorable court ruling for the class plaintiffs on a key legal issue, the final settlement agreement received approval in federal court and provides both monetary and injunctive relief that is intended to boost competition in the insurance market. Filed in 2012 by employers and individual policyholders with Blue Cross/Blue Shield (BCBS) coverage, the putative class action alleges that BCBS entities conspired to divvy up insurance markets all over the country using horizontal [...]
1
08, 2022
25
07, 2022
HB 286
Hospitals, private hospital assessment and Medicaid funding program extended for fiscal year 2025, Secs. 40-26B-71, 40-26B-73, 40-26B-77.1, 40-26B-79, 40-26B-80, 40-26B-81, 40-26B-82, 40-26B-84, 40-26B-88 am'd. For state fiscal years 2020, 2021, and 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025, an assessment is imposed on each privately operated hospital in the amount of 6.00 percent of net patient revenue in fiscal year 2017 2020, which shall be reviewed and hospital cost reports updated annually.
19
05, 2022
HB 130
Under existing law, health care services and facilities, with some exceptions, are required to apply for and receive a certificate of need before they may construct new health care facilities or offer new or expanded services. This bill would repeal the certificate of need program and abolish the Certificate of Need Review Board, the State Health Planning and Development Agency, the Statewide Health Coordinating Council, and the Health Care Information and Data Advisory Council, which all exist to operate the certificate of need program and collect data to support the operation of the certificate [...]
19
05, 2022
HB 126
Under existing law, a health care provider must obtain a certificate of need from the State Health Planning and Development Agency (SHPDA) before the provider may operate a new institutional health service. Under the State Health Plan developed by SHPDA, an air ambulance service is considered an institutional health service. Certain federal courts have held that a state's authority to require a certificate of need for air ambulance services is preempted by federal aviation laws. This bill would exempt air ambulance services from the jurisdiction of SHPDA and would prohibit SHPDA from requiring a [...]
16
05, 2022