Federal Judge Strikes Down Noncompete Ban

On August 20, 2024, a Texas federal judge stopped the FTC’s ban on noncompete agreements from going into effect on September 4, 2024. This decision comes after the FTC issued a final rule on April 23, 2024, that bans employers from imposing noncompetes on their employees. The FTC asserted that this exploitative practice kept wages low and suppressed new ideas. While the FTC’s ban will affect all industries – not just healthcare – it comes at a time when healthcare employers across the U.S. are struggling with staffing shortages. This Health Capital Topics article reviews the court’s ruling and discusses the FTC’s ban on noncompete agreements. (Read more...)

Multispecialty Surveys for Physician Compensation Released

It’s the most wonderful time of the year – Survey Season!; Beginning in late May each year, numerous industry normative benchmark physician production and compensation surveys begin publishing the most recent year’s reports. These healthcare and specialty specific surveys annually report specific types of physician compensation and productivity metrics across the country for various specialties and are widely used by hospitals, physician practices, and healthcare compensation and valuation experts, are often used for the determination of Fair Market Value (FMV) physician compensation for regulatory compliance purposes. Additionally, the government has referenced and utilized industry normative benchmark compensation surveys (including those listed below) in reviewing and litigating physician compensation arrangements, indicating their reliance on this data as well. (Read more...)

DOJ Intervenes in Fraud & Abuse Case Against Tennessee Hospital

On July 26, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a complaint in intervention against Murphy Medical Center, doing business as Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital, and Chattanooga-Hamilton County Hospital Authority, doing business as the Erlanger Health System and Erlanger Medical Center. The government’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, alleges that Erlanger violated the Stark Law, and subsequently submitted false claims to the Medicare program in violation of the False Claims Act (FCA). This Health Capital Topics article reviews the allegations underlying the case. (Read more...)

Valuation of Hospitals: Competitive Environment

Demand for a variety of healthcare services – including those provided by hospitals – is likely to increase significantly in the near future, primarily as a result of the changing demographics of the U.S. population, most notably the growth in the number of Americans over the age of 65. Indeed, a Health Affairs study found that population aging alone will create approximately 0.74% annual growth in the demand for inpatient hospital services. While hospital consolidation is leading to operational efficiency for hospitals in providing services to an increasing number of patients, the federal government’s intensifying focus on anticompetitive behaviors in healthcare may hinder traditional consolidation efforts going forward. This second installment in a five-part series on the valuation of hospitals reviews the competitive environment in which hospitals operate. (Read more...)

NEW ARTICLE

HCC’s Todd Zigrang and Jessica Bailey-Wheaton, were recently published in the Third Quarter 2024 issue of St. Louis Metropolitan Medicine. This article reviews the challenges faced by Walmart and other corporate entrants struggling in the health care market.

For more recently published material written by HCC, please visit www.healthcapital.com

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