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The attorneys of Whatley Kallas, LLP congratulate Andra K. Heller on her appointment as the new Senior Vice President and General Counsel of the American Medical Association. Ms. Heller most recently served as associate general counsel at IBM and general counsel of the IBM Watson Health Business. In announcing the appointment, AMA Chief Executive Officer […]

On February 24, 2022, the United States Department of Justice, along with the states of Minnesota and New York, filed suit in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia seeking to enjoin UnitedHealth Group’s (“United”) proposed acquisition of Change Healthcare, Inc. (“Change”). United owns the country’s largest health insurer and Change is

In a strongly worded, well-reasoned opinion supported by ample precedent, Judge Jeremy D. Kernodle of the United States District Court of the Eastern District of Texas struck down the sections of the No Surprises Act (“the Act”) rules governing how arbitrators are to determine the amount paid to out-of-network providers. The rules had been challenged

The Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addition Equity Act of 2008 (“MHPAEA”) prohibits health insurers from imposing more restrictive treatment limitations on mental health and substance abuse coverage than they impose on coverage for medical/surgical services. In other words, health insurers cannot impose limits on the frequency of treatment or the

Anthem, Inc. reported strong profits of $1.1 billion for the fourth quarter of 2021, which more than doubled its $551 million in profits for the fourth quarter of 2020 and beating analysts’ expectations. Anthem’s profits for the full year of 2021 were $6.1 billion, up from $4.6 billion in 2020. Anthem’s operating revenues were also

On December 9, 2021, the Senate passed a bill delaying reductions in Medicare payments to providers, which had been scheduled to take effect in January. The House had previously passed a bill delaying the reductions, and President Biden is expected to sign it. In all, the legislation delays nearly 10% in reductions in Medicare payments.