BW INSIGHTS

Governor Signed SF2334 Into Law

By BrownWinick | 04.12.2018
On April 2, 2018, the Governor signed SF2334 into law. SF2334 requires Iowa certificate of need approval prior to the conversion of a long-term acute care hospital, rehabilitation hospital, or psychiatric hospital, to a general hospital or another type of specialty hospital. Read More

Limited English Proficiency Policies

By BrownWinick | 04.06.2018
Health care providers and other covered entities likely encounter individuals in their practice that are diverse in language, ethnicity, and religion. As communities continue to diversify, it is important for covered entities to understand their legal obligations to populations who may not speak English as a primary language. Title VI of the Civil... Read More

Surrogacy Contracts Are Enforceable in Iowa

By BrownWinick | 03.02.2018
In a highly-anticipated ruling, the Iowa Supreme Court today ruled that gestational surrogacy contracts are enforceable in Iowa. The case involved a couple who were unable to conceive a child together. They entered an agreement with another couple, whereby the wife agreed to carry a child for the intended parents in exchange for compensation for... Read More

Iowa's State Health Facilities Council Approves Over $6 Million of New Projects

By BrownWinick | 02.23.2018
The State Health Facilities Council (the “Council”) met on February 21, 2018, and granted a certificate of need (“CON”) to each of the following projects by a vote of 4-0: The purchase of a 3.0 Tesla MRI by the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics at a cost of $2,681,912. The purchase of a PET/CT system by the University of Iowa Hospitals and... Read More

Iowa Medicaid Providers Subject to Increased Scrutiny for Medicaid Overpayments

By BrownWinick | 02.20.2018
On January 23, 2018, the Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) announced that it will begin using statistical sampling to determine whether Iowa Medicaid providers have received overpayments from Iowa Medicaid Enterprise (IME), including from the Managed Care Organizations (MCOs), and the Iowa Dental Wellness Plan. Pursuant to Informational... Read More

Should You Invest Your I.R.A. in Friends, Family or Charitable Work?

By BrownWinick | 10.10.2017
BrownWinick tax attorney William Brown was featured in The New York Times on Friday, October 6, 2017. The article, "Should You Invest Your I.R.A. in Friends, Family or Charitable Work?" discusses self-directed I.R.A.'s, which allows investments in "alternative assets" and not just traditional stocks, bonds and mutual funds. Read More

Iowa Certificate of Need Law Under Constitutional Attack

By BrownWinick | 09.21.2017
Iowa has become the latest battleground in a nationwide effort to challenge state “certificate of need” laws. Since 1977, Iowa’s certificate of need (“CON”) law has required approval for any “new or changed institutional health service.” The Iowa General Assembly enacted the CON law to avoid unnecessary duplication of healthcare services and to... Read More

Use of Microgrids During Natural Disasters

By BrownWinick | 09.01.2017
The nation’s attention is focused on the devastation brought to Texas and Louisiana by Hurricane Harvey, but there is one positive development that deserves our attention: the use of microgrids to ensure the continued operation of essential services in the face of natural disasters. An electric microgrid is broadly defined as a local network of... Read More

New Guidance on Dental Labs as Business Associates

By BrownWinick | 04.07.2017
In March 2017, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) confirmed that a dentist does not need to sign a business associate agreement with a dental lab when the dentist shares with the lab protected health information for purposes of treating patients. The OCR guidance, which was provided in an e-mail to the... Read More

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