Near the end of 2007, the United States was hit by the subprime mortgage market meltdown. For years before, the public had experienced a steady increase in home prices and a seemingly never-ending supply of mortgage lending. Homeowners were able to enjoy ever-increasing home equity and mortgage products, virtually guaranteeing that anyone who wanted to get financed could ...
In last quarter’s issue, we discussed the rise of digital currencies and the blockchain, or distributed ledger, technology that supports them. We now turn our focus to how the financial industry and governments have embraced this technology and are working to adapt it to traditional banking services and applications as far ranging as recording property transfers and safeguarding nuclear missiles ...
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has announced several enforcement actions and settlements for violations of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) rules. OCR Secures Voluntary Resolution with Hospital to Settle Provision of Auxiliary Aids and Services to Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing Individuals On Jan ...
On Jan. 15, 2019, the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Civil Rights (OCR) shared a bulletin published by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Critical Infrastructure Protection Public-Private Partnership (ASPR CIP) regarding a number of vulnerabilities identified in Microsoft Windows operating systems, which if not addressed, pose significant a threat to the environment. On Jan ...
In December of 2019, the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy (“Board”) proposed rule changes for medical marijuana dispensaries. These proposed rule changes came on the heels of increased regulatory scrutiny of ownership structures and consulting arrangements in recent months.1 The proposed rules ostensibly seek to revise and clarify the Board’s position on changes of ownership and control of medical marijuana dispensaries ...
On Jan. 29, 2020, OCR released a notice regarding a recent federal court ruling in the case of Ciox Health, LLC v. Azar, et al ...
On Jan. 14, 2020, Microsoft ended support for its Windows 2007 operating system. This means Microsoft will no longer issue regular security updates for users of Window 2007. The process of issuing security updates for computer systems is commonly referred to as “patching.” Similar to fabric patches that repair holes in clothing, software patches repair holes in computer programs ...
Mauritius started the year on a high note in the area of anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (“AML/CFT”) by issuing two complementary documents: the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Handbook: 2020 (the “Handbook”) and the Guideline on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation (the “Guideline”) ...
Effective Oct. 1, 2017, Ohio Revised Code 4123.84 was amended to shorten the statute of limitations for the filing a traditional workers’ compensation claim (a standard physical injury resulting in either a lost-time, medical-only, or death claim) from two years following the alleged date of injury to one year. The amendment does not apply to either occupational disease claims or VSSR filings, which maintain the two-year statute ...
he President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, signed the Finance Bill, 2019 into law on 13 January 2020. The amendments announced by the Finance Act, 2020 (the “Act”) intend to increase revenue collection to fund public expenditure; ensure that tax laws are consistent with national tax policy objectives; and incentivise investment in infrastructure and capital markets ...
The Indonesian competition authority, the Indonesian Commission for the Supervision of Business Competition (the “KPPU”) issued Regulation No.4 of 2019 on the Procedures for the Supervision and Handling of Partnership Cases (“Reg 4/2019”). This regulation replaces No.1 of 2015 on the Procedure for the Supervision of Partnerships, as amended, and Regulation No.1 of 2017 on the Procedures for Handling Partnership Cases, as amended (“Old Regulation”) ...
On 1 January 2020 the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) implemented various revised rules primarily targeting small banks (the so-called 'small banks regime'). Among other aspects, this will result in a relaxation of IT outsourcing requirements for financial institutions. In this respect, a revised FINMA Outsourcing Circular is available in English and German, French ...
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released a final rule, which will require hospitals to publicly disclose pricing information, effective January 1, 2021 ...
Why is H-1B Filing Season Important? This is the only time of year (with minor exceptions indicated below) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) accepts H-1B specialty worker petitions for the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, 2020 ...
Beginning July 1, 2020, Pennsylvania’s Act 46 of 2019 (Act 46)[1] will require most Pennsylvania health insurers to cover medication synchronization services (MedSync) provided to patients taking two or more maintenance medications (i.e., medications for chronic long-term conditions, including diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease) ...
On Jan. 8, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published an informational bulletin titled “Best Practices for Avoiding 340B Duplicate Discounts in Medicaid.”[1] The bulletin outlines seven regulatory strategies State Medicaid agencies may consider when developing policies for preventing the occurrence of duplicate discounts in Medicaid Fee-for-Services (FFS) and Medicaid Managed Care Organization (MCO) programs ...
Oh what a year it has been. 2019 has been a rollercoaster ride: Trump accelerates and then suddenly slams on the brakes on his tit-for-tat trade war with China. Hong Kong, hitherto the paradigm of pragmatism, lies smouldering as months of pro-democracy protests see no end. A Swedish girl (celebrating her 17th birthday just last Friday) becomes the unlikely face of environmentalism, shaming Boomers for doing nothing about climate change in front of the UN ...
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has announced several recent enforcement actions and settlements for violations of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) rules. Ambulance Company Pays $65,000 to Settle Allegations of Long-Standing HIPAA Noncompliance On Dec. 30, 2019, West Georgia Ambulance, Inc ...
As part of Paraguay's commitment to the International Financial Action Task Force of Latin America (GAFILAT), in November 2019, the Executive Power enacted Law No. 6446 that creates a “General Directorate of People and Legal Structures and Final Beneficiaries ” Under the Ministry of Finance (hereinafter the Law), which will have the following functions: Acting as the authority of application, replacing the Treasury Law, of Law No ...
On May 23, 2019, by a vote of 417-3, the United States House of Representatives passed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement (SECURE) Act. Notwithstanding broad bipartisan support, the bill stalled in the United States Senate until Dec. 19, 2019, when it passed a budget reconciliation bill (H.R. 1865, the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020 [the “Act”]), which contains the provisions from the SECURE Act. The president signed the Act on Dec. 20 ...
With a new year comes changes. And one change is a law tying business license applications to California's water quality laws. Beginning January 1, 2020, Senate Bill 205 will require that certain applicants for either a new business license or a renewal from cities or counties show that they are complying with the federal Clean Water Act and California's Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act ...
After five long years since the issuance of Law No.7 of 2014 on Trade (the "Trade Law"), the Government of Indonesia finally issued an implementing regulation on e-commerce on 20 November 2019, through Government Regulation No. 80 of 2019 on Trade through the Electronic System ("GR 80/2019"). This regulation is part of the Government's efforts to encourage internet-based transactions and trading as part of making Indonesia 4.0. GR 80/2019 has 19 chapters and an extensive scope ...
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), National Security Division (NSD), recently published updated[1] policy guidance, effective immediately, for companies considering whether to voluntarily self-disclose potentially criminal violations of U.S. export control and sanctions statutes.[2] The policy, dated Dec ...
Recent enforcement actions initiated by the Bureau of Industry and Security’s (“BIS”) Office of Antiboycott Compliance (“OAC”) serve as a warning to U.S. persons (including U.S. companies) with business interests in and around the Middle East. It is easy for the complacent to run afoul of OAC’s Antiboycott Regulations when evaluating and responding to otherwise routine documents such as a letters of credit, shipping certificates, or purchase orders ...
This week, Congress passed and President Trump is expected to sign a domestic spending package that includes significant changes affecting retirement plans in the SECURE (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement) Act, and a permanent repeal of the “Cadillac tax” on high-cost employer-sponsored health coverage that was enacted with the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The SECURE Act is the most comprehensive set of changes to retirement plan rules in many years ...
