An expert panel of the Pro League (the organization representing the interests of all professional Belgian football clubs) appointed by the latter and presided by Belgian minister of State, Melchior Wathelet, was consulted on the role of football agents within the current Belgian football landscape. The panel was asked to formulate recommendations and ‘best practice’-proposals to the Pro League ...
Key Points HHS Provider Relief Fund payments are being extended to private pay assisted living facilities under Phase II. Relief will be equal to 2 percent of annual gross revenue from resident care. Interested providers must act swiftly: the deadline to submit basic information to HHS is Sept. 13 Provider relief funds need not be repaid if recipients comply with the program criteria. HHS Announcement: On Sept.1, the U.S ...
On October 14, 2021, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office announced a $25 million healthcare fraud settlement against a private equity firm and former executives of the firm’s portfolio company. The settlement is significant because it is the largest healthcare fraud settlement in the country to date against a private equity firm based on the firm’s oversight of its healthcare portfolio company ...
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 ...
Impact on the activity of the pharmaceutical industry At the end of 2021, two laws were published to regulate the general framework for the prevention of corruption in the activity of companies: (i) Decree-Law 109-E/2021 of 9 December, which establishes the general rules for the prevention of corruption (“RGPC”) and (ii) Law 93/2021 of 20 December, which creates rules to protect whistleblowers (“RJPDI”) ...
The FDA recently issued final guidance regarding the size, shape, and other physical characteristics of generic-manufactured tablet and capsule dosage forms. The guidance noted that differences in physical characteristics of a dosage form could affect patient compliance and acceptability of medication regimens, or could lead to medication errors. The main reason for the FDA’s guidance appears to be that many patients can experience difficulty swallowing tablets and capsules ...
President Joe Biden announced Thursday, Sept. 9, that in the coming weeks, companies with 100 or more employees will be required to ensure their employees are vaccinated against COVID-19 or test negative for COVID-19 at least once a week.[1] Additionally, employers must provide employees time off to get vaccinated and to recover from any side effects. Press Secretary Jen Psaki previewed the forthcoming requirements in her briefing to the press on Thursday ...
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia recently overturned the United States Patent & Trademark Office ("USPTO") interpretation of the patent term adjustment ("PTA") statute in Exelixis, Inc. v. Kappos. Similar to Wyeth v. Kappos, where a previous USPTO interpretation of the PTA statute was overturned, the Exelixis decision promises to add months and even years to the patent term of many patents ...
At any hour, your company is vulnerable to cybercriminals aiming to cripple your operations. The repercussions are vast, from productivity loss to compromising sensitive information, which erodes trust with customers and employees alike. The financial toll and reputational harm can be severe and lasting. Whether facing a widespread assault or a precise strike, these attacks are escalating in frequency, sophistication and financial impact ...
Plaintiffs’ counsel in pharmaceutical product liability cases continue to pursue depositions of company sales representatives and seek to elicit testimony supporting their common theme that pharmaceutical companies disregard the health and safety of their consumers in the dogged, single-minded pursuit of sales and profits ...
On 6 April 2022, Shoosmiths hosted the second in a series of webinars about the UK COVID-19 Public Inquiry. The webinar focussed on the current status of the inquiry and gave practical tips for potentially interested parties. Hosted by Hayley Saunders (Partner), the webinar included talks by Charles Arrand (Partner), Alex Friston (Associate) and Hannah Frost (Associate) ...
The legal status of CBD, a naturally occurring compound found in the cannabis plant, is murky. Certain Member States are more restrictive about it than others. The Court of Justice of the EU has very recently provided clarification in the context of a preliminary ruling (case C-663/18 of 19 November 2020). This case revolves around CBD’s ban in France, after it had been imported from the Czech Republic where it was lawfully produced ...
On June 10, 2021, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress adopted the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law (the “Anti-Sanctions Law”) ...
President Donald Trump announced that the federal government will halt payments known as cost share reduction (CSR) payments. The CSR payments amounted to approximately $7 billion this year, and served as a subsidy to enable lower-income Americans to afford health insurance coverage ...
Seemingly overnight, flights and hotels emptied, and state and local governments began ordering restaurants, gyms, bars, and other “non-essential” businesses to close or to significantly curtail operations. Unemployment skyrocketed, and businesses began calling out for relief. In response, the government has proposed multiple initiatives to help stabilize businesses hit hard by current events, especially those in the hospitality industry, many of which are also franchises ...
Within hours of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade, Ohio’s Heartbeat Bill, originally passed in 2019, became effective when the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio, lifted its long pending injunction against the Ohio law ...
On October 16, 2003, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) requires employer-sponsored group health plans and others to be in compliance with the Transaction and Code Sets (“TCS”) standards for electronic transactions adopted by the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”). The federal government has been warned of potential disruption in the claim submission and payment cycles because the health care industry remains substantially non-compliant ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced new steps it is taking to determine a framework for lawful marketing of appropriate cannabis and cannabis-derived products.[i] As expressed in the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (the 2018 Farm Bill), the FDA has the authority to regulate products containing cannabis or cannabis-derived compounds ...
With the publication of Law no.74/2013 of 6 September a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) was created in Portugal. The law will come into force 90 days after the setting up of the CAS, which will be based at the Portuguese Olympic Committee (POC). In an official communication dated 13 September the POC has already announced that it will respond positively to the mandate conferred on it to set up the CAS ...
The Treasury Department has announced further extensions for medium-sized and large-sized employers for compliance with the “employer mandate” of the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”). The employer mandate requires employers with a threshold level of employees to provide affordable health insurance to 95% of their full-time employees. Under the ACA, a full-time employee is defined as any employee who works on average 30 or more hours per week ...
In a surprising turn of events, the Transport Secretary, Mark Harper, announced yesterday that the controversial plans to close the majority of rail ticket offices have been scrapped. This announcement comes as a major relief for both passengers and ticket sales personnel, but it raises questions about the potential repercussions for the rail sector as a whole ...
Information is critical to the conduct of health and medical research. Much of the time the information relates to individuals. Higher education institutions regularly collect, use, disclose and hold information, including health information, for research purposes ...
As the COVID-19 outbreak spreads and officials recommend or impose increasingly restrictive steps to mitigate the impact to public health, more companies are assessing what impact the outbreak is likely to have on their business and are considering whether that impact may necessitate furloughing workers. Following is a summary of some of the core compliance issues employers should consider as they develop contingency plans that may include furloughs ...
The school holidays are almost here and many of us are thinking about travelling abroad. If your surname is different from your dependent children, then the ever-changing COVID-19 travel restrictions aren’t the only concern to consider when making your holiday plans. The rise of ‘blended’ families and couples choosing not to marry means it is not unusual for a parent to have a different surname to their dependent children ...
