Law School Briefs – 9/14/11
Indiana University School of Law – Indianapolis will be hosting its inaugural Biomedical and Health Industry Law Compliance Conference; scholars will visit the Maurer School of Law for an IP colloquium.
Health & Insurance
Articles
Indianapolis to host health law compliance conference
Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis has planned its inaugural Biomedical and Health Industry Law Compliance Conference for Sept. 21. The keynote speaker is Joyce R. Branda, director of the Fraud Section of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Commercial Litigation Branch.
11th Circuit strikes portion of health-care reform law
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta ruled on a challenge to the federal health-care law filed by numerous states, including Indiana, and found the federal mandate that individuals have to purchase health insurance or face a penalty to be unconstitutional.
Workers’ comp cases question line between employer liability and employee responsibility
In June, the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, affirmed the finding of a workers’ compensation judge who ruled that a man whose wife died of a pulmonary embolism while working from home was entitled to workers’ compensation survivor benefits. In Renner v. AT&T, No. A-2393-10T3, a doctor admitted that other factors – including obesity – may have been risk factors for developing the fatal blood clot.
Judge blocks Medicaid fee cut to pharmacies
A federal judge in Indianapolis has temporarily blocked the state from cutting the fees it pays to pharmacists for dispensing Medicaid prescriptions.
COA: filing of commitment report is a procedural requirement
In a case of first impression, the Indiana Court of Appeals had to decide whether the timely filing of a doctor’s report in an involuntary commitment is a jurisdictional prerequisite or a procedural requirement.
Corporate lawyer leads litigation arm for Indiana-based WellPoint
When a business professor nudged Ray Umstead to consider law school three decades ago, the Ohio native never thought he’d end up working for an Indianapolis-based health insurance company that has earned the designation of having one of the best legal departments in the country.
As boomers age, lawyers seeing new trends in estate and health care planning
Born between 1946 and 1964, baby boomers are not like generations that came before them with regard to estate-planning needs. Many of them are living longer and will be working longer – some by choice and others because the value of their retirement accounts has plunged in recent years. As they look toward their future, the boomers’ top concerns are asset protection and paying for long-term care, although each person may have a different approach about how to accomplish those goals.
Florida judge rules health-care law unconstitutional
A federal judge in Florida has found that Congress has exceeded its authority in passing sweeping health-care reform in 2010 by including the individual mandate that people must purchase health insurance by 2014 or pay a penalty. Indiana had joined with 25 other states, two individuals, and the National Federation of Independent Business to challenge the law.
Federal act preempts state law claims
The Indiana Court of Appeals held that the Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance Act preempts state law claims brought by a man’s first ex-wife seeking to keep her and her grandchildren as beneficiaries of the man’s life insurance policy.
Hospitals seek Medicare reimbursement
Several Indiana hospitals are suing the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services over a Medicare reimbursement dispute.
Circuit Court reverses insurance case
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed summary judgment for an insurer on the issue of whether the commercial general policy covered faulty subcontractor work, citing a similar case recently ruled on by the Indiana Supreme Court. The Circuit Court also dealt with an issue surrounding umbrella policies for the first time.
Unsuccessful Medicaid applicants aren’t entitled to in-person hearing
People whose applications have been denied for Medicaid disability benefits do not have a constitutional right to an in-person administrative hearing, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled.
States’ lawsuit challenging federal health-care law can proceed
The lawsuit filed by 20 states, including Indiana, challenging the constitutionality of the new federal health-care law can go forward on two counts, a Florida federal judge ruled Thursday.
Justices rule on Journey’s Account Statute
The Indiana Supreme Court believes general negligence claims filed with the Indiana Department of Insurance can continue an action already filed in state court relating to medical malpractice issues.
Indiana tunes in to national issues in federal courts
What happens in Indiana regarding illegal immigration, same-sex marriage, and health-care reform may hinge on what happens
with litigation playing out in the nation’s appellate courts.
Attorneys leaving Bingham to form new firm
Seven attorneys are leaving Indianapolis firm Bingham McHale to form a new insurance litigation firm, a move that one of the departing partners said came as a result of high rates and the large firm's practice group effectively pricing itself out of the market.