chevron-down Created with Sketch Beta.

The Health Lawyer - April 2020

Vol. 32 No. 4  

Featured Articles

Health

Opioid Settlements: Some Lessons Learned from Big Tobacco

In September 2019, Purdue Pharma (Purdue) announced its agreement in principle on a framework for a “landmark” opioid litigation settlement worth, by Purdue’s account, an estimated $10 billion. As proposed, the agreement would settle claims brought by 24 attorneys general, five U.S. territories and the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee in the opioid Multidistrict Litigation (MDL).

Health

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Expansion of Telehealth for Opioid Use Disorder in the CY 2020 Medical Fee Schedule Final Rule

The calendar year (CY) 2020 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule with comment was published in the Federal Register on July 29, 2019. This proposed rule updated payment policies, payment rates and other provisions for services furnished under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS).

Health

The Debilitating Disease of Chronic Pain and the Case for Mandated Integration of Evidence-Based Alternatives into Individualized Treatment Plans

Shortly before receiving yet another lidocaine needle in the back of his neck, Staff Sergeant Josh Kisner, an Army veteran who suffers from severe headaches and chronic neck pain, confessed: I don’t know why it is starting up again. It had calmed down to a tolerable level. It’s the stupidest things like reaching into the closet to grab a shirt. For a while, I just lived on Percocets. It was the only way to do it. That’s why I hate that drug and if they give it to me after surgery, I am going to beg for something else.