More than three years after Minnesota-based HealthPartners drew national attention after stating it would no longer pay hospitals for costs of treatment related to never events Medicare and private health plans are jumping on the never-event bandwagon.

The civil False Claims Act is the principal weapon in the government's arsenal to combat healthcare fraud. The Senate and the House are considering bills that would further expand the scope of liability under the Act and eliminate two of the key defenses to meritless lawsuits filed by qui tam plaintiffs.

Capitation and other risk-sharing arrangements have been pursued by provider organizations for the past two decades. Yet the law on whether such arrangements result in the provider organization being in the business of insurance has not fully evolved in all states.

When companies interact with governmental bodies, issues related to the Public Information Act frequently arise. It is imperative for those companies to understand the Public Information Act as well as the internal procedures that may be developed to handle open records issues.

Many healthcare entities have explored certain alternative risk transfer arrangements as a means for insuring, or perhaps self-insuring, various exposures. The use of captive insurance arrangements has been a common approach, and thus, "protected cell companies" have become popular vehicles.

Across the country, state and local lawmakers are discussing various mechanisms to provide healthcare coverage to uninsured residents, and some states have recently enacted such legislation. Some of these laws include the requirement to make employers fund at least part of the states' health insurance programs.

Sens. Leahy and Kennedy have introduced the Health Information Privacy and Security Act of 2007 (HIPSA), which if enacted into law, would require HHS to revise HIPAA.

Choice of law issues arising from coverage disputes of both individual and group insurance policies many times determine which party will prevail on the merits of a particular case. Also, in today's mobile economy, insurance transactions frequently cross state boundaries.

As employers search for ways to reduce rising healthcare costs and improve employee productivity, more companies are implementing wellness programs in an attempt to improve employees' health and reduce their own insurance costs. There are a number of different options employers may consider when deciding to institute a wellness program, including offering smoking cessation and weight loss programs, fitness classes, and in some cases, penalizing certain behavior. Employers must be careful, however, to ensure that these programs do not violate certain federal and state laws as they carry certain inherent legal risks.