- Penn Medicine crisis center cuts psychiatric ED consults 80% in 6 months
- Maryland extends behavioral health provider enrollment halt
- TGH Behavioral Health launches partial hospitalization program
- NYU Langone, Mount Sinai patient records temporarily shielded from Justice Department
- UAMS to operate 53-bed Arkansas hospital, expanding clinical footprint
- New York system to close ASC, orthopedic group
- Preventing employee cynicism in a DSO
- Optum prepares to sell some New York specialties
- New York system to close orthopedic group, ASC
- CHS hospital CEO to retire after 50-year healthcare career
- Maintenance workers at 6 Prime hospitals in Illinois plan strike
- Walmart heiress’ nonprofit launches GME center to grow physician pipeline
- Optum prepares to sell some New York specialties
- Senate bill aims to expand rural surgery care
- Memorial Sloan Kettering breaks ground on $2.3B cancer center
- Ohio dentist to pay $500,000 to resolve False Claim Act allegations
- Lawmakers aim to fight ‘surgical deserts’ with new bill
- 9 schools training the next wave of ASC anesthesiologists
- 3 Washington dental offices pay $1M to settle Medicaid fraud allegations
- Why Ascension believes ASCs need a rebrand
- How long can health systems afford rising provider pay?
- Illinois behavioral health CEO charged in $75M Medicaid fraud case
- The anesthesia desert: 8 states, no residency programs, no pipeline
- The CRNA cost cliff
- Is private equity’s healthcare bubble about to burst?
- States ranked by anesthesiologists per capita
- Assort Health scores $120M series C to scale voice AI agent platform for healthcare
- ASCs’ lease liability
- Arizona behavioral health provider email breach affects 2,316
- Akron Children’s adds 24/7 text-based mental health support
- Kaiser Health Plan ordered to pay hospital $82M over insufficient reimbursement
- Dentistry’s highest-paid CEO
- US health spending set to reach $9T by 2034: CMS report
- What behavioral health leaders need to know about Medicaid work requirements
- Trial set for man accused of dental office shooting
- Utah halts new behavioral health Medicaid enrollments
- BCBS Michigan to supervised BH clinicians: Bill directly or face payment cuts
- Vitana Pediatric & Orthodontic Partners expands capital structure with new financing partner
- Mapp, Gilead antivirals to be deployed in DRC Ebola trial: WHO chief
- Senators call for $50B rural health fund to better target small providers, relax spending restrictions
- Florida AG to probe CVS for anticompetitive pharmacy practices
- Pfizer scores 1st expansion in 7 years for breast cancer blockbuster Ibrance
- UnitedHealth, Humana And CVS Denied Post-Hospital Care At Some Of The Highest Rates
- Even 5-Minute Movement Breaks Can Boost Your Mood And Fight Fatigue
- Lilly exec says MFN will affect company's obesity pill launch strategy in Europe: report
- Stada, under new CapVest ownership, picks up horde of European consumer brands
- Belly Laughs Spring From The Primitive Brain, Researchers Say
- Mom's Good Heart Health Lowers Risk Of Baby's Developmental Delays
- Accelerated Aging May Explain Rising Cancer Risk In Young Adults
- Coval raises $28M series A to address AI voice agent reliability, compliance
- Amid safety concerns, ADC Therapeutics plots 17% staff cuts to push resources behind Zynlonta
- Racial Gaps Narrow For U.S. Cancer Deaths, Report Finds
- Medicare's AI Push Snarls Patients And Doctors In Errors And Delays
- Even in Blue States, Hospitals Have Continued To Drop Gender-Affirming Care for Youths
- Patients prefer healthcare providers' AI agents to public chatbots, with human oversight non‑negotiable, survey finds
- Revance taps dancer Julianne Hough to choreograph social media push for Botox rival
- Western University opens multidisciplinary dental clinic
- Nature retracts provocative PD-1 study that tied lung cancer survival to treatment timing
- Oral Surgery Partners adds Pennsylvania practice
- Rock Dental Brands marks record growth during first half of 2026: 4 notes
- Connecticut woman accused of stealing $78K from dental office
- Some life insurers compete with health insurers on benefits. Here's why
- DOJ announces $6.5B healthcare fraud takedown with record Medicaid enforcement
- Psychologists sound alarm on patients using AI for mental health: 5 notes
- Locum tenens coverage becoming ‘more purposeful’ staffing strategy: Definitive Healthcare
- Testosterone Therapy Labels And Limits May Change Under FDA Proposal
- Unpacking CMS' decision to recalculate 2026 MA star ratings after Clover Health ruling
- Michigan hospitals denounce legislation to cap prices, limit mergers
- Incyte drops lawsuit as CMS relents on classification of Opzelura
- Medicare’s AI push snarls patients and doctors in errors and delays
- Midlife Strength Training Linked to Lower Diabetes Risk
- Badges, bots and blind spots
- Cadence secures $100M series C to advance AI-powered care for chronic disease
- Patient Portal Messages Double, Doctors Face Rising Workload
- Most Americans Unaware Of Link Between Alcohol And Cancer — And Aren't Interested In Spreading The Word, Either
- Sunscreen Misinformation Popular On TikTok, Study Finds
- Indiana Takes On Powerful Hospitals By Capping Prices They Charge Employers
- Kids’ Juice And Soda Intake Linked To Higher Blood Pressure Risk As Young Adults
- Worried About Your Aging Parents? Welcome to the Caregiving Club
- Medicare’s AI Push Snarls Patients and Doctors in Errors and Delays
- Hallmark Health Care Solutions launches AI solution to tackle workforce ‘black box’
- AdvanCell locks in lease for US headquarters, radiopharmaceutical production near Boston
- Novartis’ ‘Relax Your Tight End’ prostate cancer campaign wins Cannes Lions Pharma Grand Prix
- These 'socially responsible' hospitals deliver on quality, value and equity
- A look at Elevance Health's push to streamline clinical reviews
- Whistleblower suit accuses Genentech, Novartis of running decades-long kickback scheme on allergy med Xolair
- Big obesity bets and China's rise fuel potential $2T in 2032 drug sales: Evaluate
- Patient portal messages doubled since 2020, study finds, underscoring challenges to physician workloads
- HCSC unveils Easify Edge plans as alternative employer option
- Clover Hill Dairy Recalls All Cheese in Deadly Listeria Outbreak
- Half of U.S. adults can't afford healthcare, Gallup poll finds
- Ensemble Health Partners secures strategic growth investment from Thoreau
- Hospital margins inched higher in April, but still remain below 2025
- Middle-Aged Women Drink More, Know Less About Breast Cancer Risk
- CMS Proposes TAVR Medicare Coverage is Potential Boost for Edwards Lifesciences
- CARsgen makes history as China approves world's first CAR-T therapy for solid tumors
- High Hurdles Thwart Kidney Patients' Pursuit Of Life-Saving Transplants
- Rising Healthcare Costs Leave Many Americans Less Secure
- Short Videos Help First-Time Dads Learn Newborn Safety Basics
- Federal Push To Increase U.S. Primary Care Docs Has Fizzled, Study Says
- US to investigate Germany's proposed drug spending reforms
- Alnylam scolded over promotional activity after Pfizer complaint
- Real-world data powers next-gen biopharma
- They're Uninsured After Obamacare Became Too Costly. And They're Far From Alone.
- Indiana Takes On Powerful Hospitals by Capping Prices They Charge Employers
- Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk top AI citation share as new report questions DTC spend culture
- Fish Oil Supplements May Be A Bust For Alzheimer's Prevention
- Prehab Can Boost Seniors' Recuperation From Spinal Fusion Surgery, Trial Finds
- Dog Owners Feel Similar Grief Whether Pets Euthanized, Die Naturally
- Ozempic Might Cut Risk Of Broken Bones, Study Says
- Massage Guns Can Cause Eye Damage, Vision Loss, Case Report Warns
- A 5-month sprint: Behind Pfizer’s $10B deal and Innovent’s global pharma ambition
- FTC orders Aurobindo to divest 4 drugs to complete $250M Lannett acquisition
- Ebola Infections Climb, Could Take Year To Contain, Health Officials Say
- Why a deviation investigation still takes two weeks in the age of AI
- Feeling Sleepy During the Day? It Could Be a Warning Sign for High Blood Pressure
- Pfizer hunts for new CFO as Denton prepares to hang up gloves, wave goodbye to pharma
- Major League Pitchers Might Avoid Elbow Injuries By Altering Their Approach, Simulation Suggests
- Birth Control Pills Might Increase Binge Eating Risk, Study Finds
- Women Might Lower Their Heart Risk By Lifting Weights, Study Says
- Personalized Brain Implant Provides Step-By-Step Walking Boost For Parkinson's Patients
- Most Americans Are Surviving Cancer. But The Mental Health Challenges Can Persist.
- Sandwiched Between Caring for Kids and Aging Parents? Reach Out for Resources
- Arrests of Immigrant Parents Create Mental Health Crisis for Children
- U.K. Moves To Ban Social Media For Children
- Pregnant Woman Exposed to 45 Common Chemicals, Study Finds
- Gilead’s Trodelvy nabs broad FDA approval in front-line TNBC, fueling TROP2 ADC market war
- Lower Risk Of Death, Clots Among Autoimmune Patients Taking GLP-1 Drugs
- Surgical Menopause Tied To Worse Sexual And Urinary Symptoms
- Post-Op Delirium Common In Seniors, But Not All Hospitals Screen For It
- Early-Onset Cancers Are On The Rise. Knowing Your Family History Is Crucial.
- Minimally Invasive Procedure Eases Arthritis Knee Pain, Study Finds
- Democrats Seek To Spotlight Rising Health Costs by Forcing Vote on Trump Regulation
- Tennessee Pharmacies Sell Potent Ivermectin, Led by Anti-Vaccine Doctor Who’s Taken ‘Bucketloads’
- Big Pharma’s Big Brand: Inside Eli Lilly’s marketing culture
- Backed by Threat of Clawbacks, Feds Wield Tight Grip on $50B Rural Health Fund
- They’re Uninsured After Obamacare Became Too Costly. And They’re Far From Alone.
- Remarks to the US-CEE Connection: Transatlantic Challenges in Law, Business & Policy
- Statement Regarding Minimum Pricing Increments and Access Fee Caps
- Statement at the SEC Open Meeting on the Trade-Through Rule and Locked and Crossed Markets Provisions of Regulation NMS
- Disorder Protection Rule: Statement on the Proposed Amendments to Rule 611 and Other Provisions of Regulation NMS
- Statement on the Proposed Amendments to Regulation NMS
- Beyond China and Japan: How biopharma is expanding rare disease access across Asia-Pacific
- This Old House: Improving and Remodeling Our Registered Offering and Filer Status Regimes
- Peirce Out: Remarks at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Capital Markets Summit
- Medtronic Advances Hugo Robotic Surgery Platform with Key FDA Filings and Product Approvals
- Medtronic Posts Strongest Revenue Growth in a Decade, Driven by Cardiovascular and Surgical Businesses
- Boston Scientific Plans Indiana Distribution Center, 300 New Jobs
- “Harmonization: We’ll Have Lots to Talk About”
- Remarks at the Investor Advisory Committee Meeting
Michigan healthcare freedom community forum
Back to the future. Health care relies on quite a number of workers classified as independent contractors for tax and benefit purposes. Those workers' statuses will require review:
Can US independent contractor rule survive legal challenges, Congress?
By Daniel Wiessner - January 10, 2024Jan 10 (Reuters) - A new Biden administration rule will likely prevent companies in a range of industries from treating some workers as independent contractors, who cost less than employees, and could create new legal headaches for app-based services that rely on gig workers.
But first, the U.S. Department of Labor rule, which takes effect March 11, will have to withstand expected court challenges by businesses and trade groups and the scrutiny of Republicans in Congress who will likely move to repeal it.
REVERSING TRUMP-ERA REGULATION
The rule unveiled on Tuesday adopts a test similar to the ones many courts have used for years to determine whether workers should be treated as independent contractors or employees under U.S. wage laws. The fact-based test looks at six main factors including the degree of control a company wields over a worker, whether work performed is integral to a company's business, and a worker's opportunity for profit or loss.
It replaces a Trump administration regulation favored by business groups that had made it easier to treat workers as contractors, who are not owed a minimum wage, overtime pay and other benefits reserved for employees. Studies suggest that employees can cost companies up to 30% more than contractors.
IMPACT BEYOND THE 'GIG ECONOMY'
The Labor Department has said that the rule is designed to clarify the standard for determining worker classification and crack down on low-paying industries where misclassification is common, including construction, healthcare, retail sales and security and janitorial services.
But much of the scrutiny of the rule has focused on its potential impact on the "gig economy," as app-based services rely heavily on contract labor to contain costs and gig work has become the main way that millions of Americans earn a living.
Companies including Uber Technologies, Lyft and DoorDash have said they do not expect the rule to result in their drivers and delivery workers being classified as employees. But it could spur a fresh round of lawsuits claiming app-based services are misclassifying workers as contractors, which the industry has already been battling for a decade.
LEGAL CHALLENGES
Business groups are widely expected to seek to block the rule in court, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the largest U.S. business lobby, has already said it is considering a lawsuit. Individual businesses, freelancers and gig workers, and Republican-led states also could mount legal challenges.
Any lawsuit over the rule will likely attack both its merits and the Labor Department's process for adopting it, according to legal experts. Groups could argue that the rule's definition of who counts as an employee is too broad and violates federal wage law, and that it is so vague that compliance would be difficult.
At the same time, lawsuits could allege that the Labor Department failed to justify its sharp break from the Trump administration rule, as required by the federal law that governs rulemaking by agencies.
The Labor Department had previously moved to rescind the Trump-era regulation but a federal judge in Beaumont, Texas in 2022 agreed with business groups that the agency had not followed the proper administrative procedure. Trade groups and conservative lawyers have challenged many Biden administration regulations in Texas federal courts, and there is a good chance that lawsuits over the independent contractor rule could be brought in the state.
CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW
The federal Congressional Review Act gives Congress the ability to repeal agency rules within 60 days of their adoption, and business groups have said they will urge lawmakers to use that power to eliminate the Labor Department rule.
Senator Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana, said on Tuesday that he planned to introduce a resolution to repeal the rule. Any effort to do so will likely be backed by most Republicans and could pass the House of Representatives, where the party holds a slim majority.
But getting the measure through the Senate, where Democrats have a one-seat advantage, and mustering the two-thirds majority needed to overcome a likely veto from Democratic President Joe Biden would be a heavier lift.
https://blog.dol.gov/2024/01/10/employee-or-independent-contractor-a-guide-to-the-new-rule
Employee or Independent Contractor? A Guide to the New Rule
The Wage and Hour Division is committed to protecting employees’ rights across America. To do so effectively, we must help businesses and workers understand how to differentiate employees from independent contractors who are in business for themselves.
Today, the Department of Labor published a final rule, Employee or Independent Contractor Classification Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, to provide guidance on whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor under the FLSA. This rule will help to ensure that workers who are employees are paid the minimum wage and overtime due them, and that responsible employers that comply with the law are not placed at a competitive disadvantage when competing against employers that misclassify employees.
Importantly, the final rule rescinds the 2021 Independent Contractor Rule, which we believe is out of sync with longstanding judicial precedent and increased the likelihood of misclassification. The new rule’s realignment of the department’s guidance with judicial precedent will reduce confusion, improve compliance and better protect working people.
Specifically, the final rule revises the department’s guidance by:
- Returning to the multifactor, totality-of-the-circumstances analysis to assess whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor under the FLSA.
- Explaining that all factors are analyzed without assigning a predetermined weight to a particular factor or set of factors.
- Using the longstanding interpretation of the economic reality factors. These factors include opportunity for profit or loss depending on managerial skill, investments by the worker and the potential employer, the degree of permanence of the work relationship, the nature and degree of control, the extent to which the work performed is an integral part of to the potential employer’s business, and the worker’s skill and initiative.
The economic reality test in our new regulations is nimble enough to continue to provide a useful analysis for the broad range of work arrangements that exist today. The final rule will help the Wage and Hour Division to continue addressing misclassification and prioritizing the most vulnerable workers who are being misclassified – because that’s what we must do. In addition, the rule will help to ensure that independent contractors, including freelancers, who are in business for themselves are properly classified. We recognize that independent contractors play an important role in our economy – and this rule won’t change that.
Proper classification of employees and independent contractors results in workers who are employees under the FLSA receiving the hard-earned wages and protections they’re legally entitled to, while also ensuring that independent businesses continue to thrive. Employees across industries and workplaces should have access to both flexibility and essential worker rights.
We urge workers and employers alike to check out our website to learn more about the new rule, which was published in the Federal Register on Jan. 10 and has an effective date of March 11.
Jessica Looman is the administrator of the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division.
The rule begs one question:
"Why are these workers choosing gig/contract work instead of employment???"
Struck down in the nick of time:
NLRB’s joint employer rule hits the rocks in court
By Nick Niedzwiadek - March 11, 2024A federal judge in Texas on Friday kneecapped the National Labor Relations Board from implementing its stricter joint-employment standard, a major blow to one of the agency’s biggest regulatory moves under the Biden administration.
The two-step test at the heart of the NLRB’s rule is inherently flawed, Judge J. Campbell Barker wrote in his 31-page decision. That framework involves determining whether a business qualifies as a “common-law employer” and then assessing whether it holds control over one or more “essential terms and conditions” of a worker’s job — even if that authority is indirect or not actually exercised.
“[T]he Board has not been able to come up with any example of an entity satisfying step one but not step two,” Barker, a Trump appointee who previously blocked the Biden administration’s Covid-era federal eviction ban.
The NLRB tried unsuccessfully to get Barker to transfer the case to Washington, D.C., where the agency is facing a separate challenge to the rule filed by the labor union SEIU.
Business groups brought the lawsuit, arguing that the NLRB’s expansive definition had the potential to expose broad swaths of employers to liability for labor law violations committed by contractors or franchisees.
The NLRB acknowledged that the rule was intended to be defined broadly.
But Barker sided with arguments that the agency went too far to that end, stating that the new test “would treat virtually every entity that contracts for a labor as a joint employer because virtually every contract for third-party labor has terms that impact, at least indirectly, at least one of the specified ‘essential terms and conditions of employment.’”
NLRB Chair Lauren McFerran “is reviewing the decision and actively considering next steps.”
“The District Court’s decision to vacate the Board’s rule is a disappointing setback, but is not the last word on our efforts to return our joint-employer standard to the common law principles that have been endorsed by other courts,” she said in a statement.
The International Franchise Association, whose membership includes big-name fast food sellers and has been one of the most vocal critics of the joint employer standard, called on the Senate to vote to permanently overturn the rule via the Congressional Review Act. The House did just that earlier this year, and the Senate companion has the backing of Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), giving it a high chance of passing.
“Elected officials on both sides of the aisle talk a big game about standing up for small businesses, and now the U.S. Senate can act on those promises by putting the bipartisan CRA resolution on President Biden’s desk,” IFA President Matt Haller said in a statement.
The White House has nevertheless said that President Joe Biden would veto the measure if it reaches his desk, though that of course was before Barker’s decision complicated matters.
“This ruling is a major win for employers and workers who don’t want their business decisions micromanaged by the NLRB,” U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Suzanne Clark said in a release following the decision.
Get MHF Insights
News and tips for your healthcare freedom.
We never spam you. One-step unsubscribe.
Sponsors
J & DE Family Charitable Fund
Friends
of MHF
Kelly Grotendiek
Philip Harbach
Dale Johnson
Drs. Jeffrey and Joni Jones
Vickie Kahle
Tammy Kipen
Marlin & Kathy Klumpp
Melanie Kurdys
Ruth Nobel
Patrick Peterson
Stephanie Poortenga
Jeanne Smit
Ben and Hope Staal
John Tuinstra
Jacki VanHuis
Sandy Walker
Sign Up for MHF Insights to keep up on the latest in Michigan Health Policy
