Thomas Crane retired from Mintz in 2021. He was previously a Member in Mintz’s Litigation Practice.
viewpoints
Developments in Judicial Deference of Administrative Agency Actions
April 22, 2015 | Advisory
In my post of April 2, Divided Supreme Court Restricts Provider Challenges to State Medicaid Rates, I wrote about the March 31st Supreme Court decision that providers may not sue in federal court over the adequacy of state Medicaid rates (See Armstrong v. Exceptional Child Ctr., Inc. (“Exceptional Child Center”).
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Beyond SGR - MACRA Provides Additional Payment Provisions and Offsets
April 21, 2015 | Blog | By Lauren Moldawer
This is the second post in our continuing series on the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA). Pub.L. No: 114-10. In addition to repealing the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR), which was covered in our April 20th post, MACRA includes several other payment provisions and offsets totaling $39.5 billion in savings over ten years.
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With SGR Repealed, Replacement Policy Creates New Priorities
April 20, 2015 | Blog
On April 16, 2015, President Obama signed into law, the “Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015” (MACRA), ending annual temporary patches and massive lobbying efforts since the late 1990s to prevent significant reimbursement cuts for physicians serving Medicare beneficiaries caused by the so-called Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula.
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Divided Supreme Court Restricts Provider Challenges to State Medicaid Rates
April 2, 2015 | Blog
A divided Supreme Court ruled by a 5-4 margin on March 31st that providers may not sue in federal court over the adequacy of state Medicaid rates. The decision in Armstrong v. Exceptional Child Ctr., Inc. has important implications well beyond the narrow group of providers of “habilitation” services for the mentally retarded in the state of Idaho.
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Mintz Attorneys to Discuss 340B Program, Overpayments and Stark Self-Disclosures at AHLA Medicare & Medicaid Institute
March 24, 2015 | Blog
This week, two of Mintz health law attorneys will speak at the American Health Lawyers Association Institute on Medicare and Medicaid Payment Issues in Baltimore, Maryland.
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7th Circuit Court of Appeals Creates Expansive Definition of “Referral” Under the Anti-Kickback Statute
February 12, 2015 | Blog
On February 10, 2015, in United States v. Patel (Case No. 14-2607), the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a physician makes a “referral” within the meaning of the federal health care programs Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS).
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Mintz Attorneys Discuss Top Health Care Fraud Issues to Watch in 2015
January 14, 2015 | Blog | By Brian Dunphy
Bloomberg BNA recently published a Health Care Fraud Report entitled Outlook 2015: Uptick Expected in Stark, Anti-Kickback FCA Cases, Self-Disclosures, which examines the top issues for health care providers and suppliers to watch in 2015.
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OIG Issues Long-Awaited Proposed Rule on AKS Safe Harbors, CMPs, and Gainsharing
October 15, 2014 | Blog | By Karen Lovitch
Last Friday, the HHS Office of the Inspector General issued a highly anticipated proposed rule that provides new and modified regulatory safe harbors to the Anti-Kickback Statute, amends regulatory provisions related to enforcement of the Beneficiary Inducement Civil Monetary Penalty Law (CMP) provisions, and attempts to narrow the prohibitions covered by the Gainsharing CMP.
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Proposed Rule Issued by OIG Realigns Its Enforcement Views with Health Care Reform Goals
October 9, 2014 | Alert | By Theresa Carnegie, Carrie Roll, Stephanie Willis
Fridays never seem to be slow in the health care regulatory world. On Friday, October 3rd, the HHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued a highly anticipated proposed rule (the Proposed Rule) that provides amendments to the Anti-Kickback Statute’s regulatory safe harbors (AKS Safe Harbors) and adds protections for increasingly common payment practices and business arrangements under the Civil Monetary Penalty Law (CMP).
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A Brave New World of Transparency Reporting: CMS Launches Open Payments Website
September 30, 2014 | Blog | By Kimberly Gold
September 30th marked the launch of transparency reports under the Sunshine Act through a new Open Payments website hosted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
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News & Press
Mintz Member Thomas Crane and Associate Xavier Hardy co-authored a Bloomberg Law Insights article discussing the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), specifically the staggering unemployment numbers’ emphasis on the ACA’s measures to increase coverage.
Mintz Recognized by Chambers USA 2019
April 26, 2019
AHLA Health Care Compliance Legal Issues Manual
March 5, 2019
Mintz Member and Chair of the Health Law Practice Karen S. Lovitch served as an editor of the Fifth Edition of the American Health Lawyers Association’s “Health Care Compliance Legal Issues Manual,” which provides strategies for addressing the full scope of legal issues critical to health care compliance. Mintz Member Thomas S. Crane also contributed to the publication as an author.
Chambers USA 2018 Ranks Mintz Attorneys & Practices
May 03, 2018
Mintz partner and Massachusetts lawyer Julie Korostoff is one of 49 attorneys recognized as “Leaders in Their Fields” by the 2018 Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business guide. Chambers named Korostoff a “Recognized Practitioner” in Technology.
Outlook 2018: Health Industry Faces Uncertain Regulatory Landscape
December 29, 2017
In looking ahead to 2018 health care trends, Mintz Member Tom Crane, a fraud and abuse and health care enforcement defense attorney, is referenced in the Bloomberg Law article on possible changes to the Stark Law in 2018.
Best Lawyers named 85 Mintz attorneys to its 2018 list of The Best Lawyers in America. In addition, Mintz attorneys Matthew J. Gardella and Samuel M. Tony Starr were named “Lawyer of the Year” in their respective practice areas.
Stark Law Advisory Opinion Process Needs Revamping
March 29, 2017
Member Tom Crane authors this article discussing the decision by the Fourth Circuit court of Appeals in United States ex rel. Drakeford v. Tuomey. The judgment premised on Stark Law violations, and was, according to some, not grounded in Stark Law regulations.
Health Fraud Rule Withdrawal May Hurt Enforcement Efforts
February 1, 2017
This article notes that due to the Trump administration’s delay of a program integrity final rule fraud enforcement could become more of a challenge. Mintz health care attorneys Ellyn Sternfield and Tom Crane weigh in on the issue.
Outlook 2017: New Year May Bring Stark Reform, ACA Repeal, Heavy Dose of Uncertainty
January 6, 2017
In this Bloomberg BNA Health Law Resource Center article, Tom Crane discusses the potential consequences of reforming Stark law. Tom is known for his fraud and abuse defense work and is involved in Mintz’s Health Care Enforcement Defense Practice.
AHA sends Trump a wish list of more lax laws and regulations
December 1, 2016
Mintz Member Tom Crane is quoted in this Modern Healthcare article discussing the American Hospital Association’s request to President-elect Trump to cancel Stage 3 of the meaningful use program.
Eighty-Four Mintz Attorneys Named 2016 Massachusetts Super Lawyers and Rising Stars
October 18, 2016
Fifty-three Mintz attorneys have been named Massachusetts Super Lawyers for 2016 and thirty-one have been named Massachusetts Rising Stars. The findings will be published in the November 2016 issue of Boston Magazine and in a stand-alone magazine, New England Super Lawyers.
Best Lawyers named 73 Mintz attorneys to its 2017 list of The Best Lawyers in America. Mintz attorneys selected for inclusion in this year’s list span 44 practice areas.
Firm’s National Healthcare Practice, NY Corporate/M&A and Litigation: General Commercial Among Newest Rankings
Outlook 2016: More FCA Cases, Enforcement against Individuals
January 8, 2016
Mintz Member Tom Crane is quoted in this BNA’s Health Care Daily Report article discussing the expectation that the health care industry will face increased False Claims Act cases and enforcement actions in 2016.
The 2015 Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business guide names 52 Mintz, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. attorneys as “Leaders in Their Fields.”
What Is The Anti-Kickback Statute?
January 1, 2015
Mintz Member and Chair of the Health Law Practice Karen S. Lovitch, Member Thomas S. Crane, and Associate Samantha P. Kingsbury co-authored a book published by the American Bar Association examining the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, one of the best-known federal fraud and abuse statutes, which prohibits transactions intended to induce or reward referrals for items or services reimbursed by the federal health care programs. The criminal statute has wide-ranging effects on business relationships in the health care, pharmaceutical, and medical device sectors.