Archive for January, 2013

VA blue pencil law doesn’t apply if the parties don’t choose VA law.

In Edwards Moving & Rigging, Inc. v. W.O. Grubb Steel Erection, Inc., the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia reviewed a non-compete agreement providing that Kentucky law would govern its interpretation. As...

Federal government contract or subcontract can obligate a business to comply with substantial affirmative action obligations. Knowing whether such a contract triggers these obligations is critical and allows a business to properly evaluate the...

OCR Releases Sample Business Associate Agreement Provisions

NEW Sample business associate agreement provisions to help covered entities and business associates more easily comply with the business associate contract requirements under NEW HIPAA rules.  While these sample provisions are written for the...

Unlocking your new smartphone is now illegal

It is now illegal under federal law to unlock your cell phone without permission from your wireless carrier. Here’s a quick guide  from Digital Trends to answer  questions. “As of today, it is illegal...

You would think that enough convictions might give people the message

Just three days in January — How many health care crooks can there be? January 24, 2013; U.S. Department of Justice Four Sentenced to Prison in Florida Community Mental Health Center Case  The owners...

Great piece on professionals working together

“In a profession abounding with experts, no one person’s expertise can always count for more. Although certain technical skills may be specialty-specific, there’s a much broader range of skills on which no group has...

Call the soda police, but only outside the US

“… 58% of voters from the United States supported government regulation of sugar-sweetened beverages, whereas 84% of voters from other countries supported such regulation…” http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMclde1215057?query=TOC

$40 million health care scam alleged

In September 2010, Lilit Galstyan, Julieta Ghazaryan, and Marine Movsisyan were indicted on charges of health care fraud, conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Galstyan, Ghazaryan, and...

Men more likely than women to commit misconduct

“… [M]en are more likely to commit research misconduct,” says Joan W. Bennett of Rutgers University, a co-author on the study. “Senior men are most likely to do so.” Bennet,  Ferric C. Fang of...

Modifications to the HIPAA Privacy, Security, Enforcement, and Breach Notification Rules (Omnibus Rule)

No Mercy for Business Associates: As expected, business associates now have direct liability under HIPAA and must comply with all of its security and certain privacy standards. OCR did not provide business associates additional...