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    The Health Lawyer - April 2020

    Vol. 32 No. 4  

    Health

    Chair's Column: The State of our Great Section

    By John H McEniry IV, Fagron North America, Fairhope, AL

    On March 31, 2020, I had the pleasure of delivering the first-ever virtual American Bar Association Health Law Section State of the Section address, which also recognized our Emerging Young Lawyers in Healthcare Award winners, Law Student Writing Competition winner, Burton Award winners, and Champion of Diversity and Inclusion Award winner. For those of you who were not able to attend the State of the Section address and recognition of Health Law Section award winners, the transcript is reprinted below.

    Featured Articles

    Health

    Opioid Settlements: Some Lessons Learned from Big Tobacco

    By Lynn M. Barrett, Esq., CHC, CCP, Barrett Law, PA, Weston, FL

    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

    By Christine L. Noller, JD, LLM, Saginaw Valley State University, University Center, MI

    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

    By Stephanie L. Flackman, J.D. Candidate 2020, Seton Hall University School of Law, Newark, NJ

    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.