In the past, Minor Source Air Permits issued by LDEQ typically did not have an expiration date. That has changed. Per Louisiana Revised Statute 30:2023(A), all environmental permits issued by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (“LDEQ”) “shall have, as a matter of law, a term of not more than ten years.” Louisiana’s air quality
OIG Would Not Sanction Arrangement Involving Payment to Excluded Provider for Pre-Exclusion Services
The latest OIG Advisory Opinion, issued February 9, 2015, addresses the issue of sharing federal health care program payments with an excluded practitioner. While federal statutes prohibit payment by any federal health care program, including Medicare or Medicaid, for items or services furnished by an excluded person or furnished at the medical direction or on
Mardi Gras Season; Travel Season: Why Louisiana Employers Must Also Consider the Legalization of Marijuana
For many Louisianans, the Mardi Gras and President’s Day office and school closures equate with travel time. For some, it will mean a time to flock west to hit the slopes – including in Colorado, a state that has legalized marijuana for recreational use.
Employers in many states have grappled with the legal and practical
Update: Punitive Damages – “One Bite of the Apple” or Exception to Res Judicata
As previously reported, the Louisiana Supreme Court heard oral argument in Oleszkowicz v. Exxon Mobil Oil Corporation, et al. and Chauvin v. Exxon Mobil Corporation, et al., regarding the dispute as to whether claims for punitive damages are barred by res judicata. The court recently issued opinions in these cases.
To recap, a
Not Even Mardi Gras is Immune from Labor Issues
“Throw me something, mister!” A labor dispute between dock workers and shipping companies on the West Coast has delayed shipments of signature Mardi Gras beads to the Big Easy (along with countless other items stuck in gridlock).
The longshoremen in question have been working without a collective bargaining agreement since July, when the prior CBA
Industrial Development Revenue Bonds 101
Federal tax law generally provides that tax-exempt bonds can only be issued to finance property for governmental or public use. If the property to be financed with bonds would be privately used, i.e., in a trade or business, the interest generated from the bonds will be included as income for federal income tax purposes. However,
EPA Proposes Changes to Oil Spill Dispersant Use
Dispersants are one of the tools available to mitigate detrimental impacts to shorelines and wildlife exposed to oil spills. In response to the Deepwater Horizon incident, the EPA authorized use of surface and subsurface dispersants. In mid-January 2015, the EPA announced that it would soon publish proposed rules in the Federal Register to address future
Buying Generic for Louisiana Public Works Act Projects
In public bid projects, it is not uncommon to see project specifications that specify particular brands “or their equivalent.” Louisiana law prohibits the use of name-brand specifications, known as “closed specifications,” so the propriety of these specifications is debatable. La. R.S. 38:2212(T). To comply with the statute, these brand particulars are generally interpreted to be
DHH Implements Recovery Audit Contractor Program
The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (“DHH”) adopted provisions to establish the Recovery Audit Contractor (“RAC”) Program, effective November 20, 2014, as required by the Affordable Care Act. The new RAC program provides yet another mechanism by which DHH, through its contractors, can conduct post-payment audits of claims submitted by providers enrolled in Medicaid.
Louisiana Second Circuit Holds that Routine Nonsurgical Medical Treatment Does Not Require Compliance with the Louisiana Uniform Consent Law
William McDougald et al. v. St. Francis North Hospital Inc. No. 48,955 (La. App. 2nd Cir. April 9, 2014) 137 So.3d 1233 writ denied 2014-0815 (La. 6/3/14), 140 So.3d 1191.
In this medical malpractice wrongful death action, the plaintiffs contended that the defendant physician breached the standard of care in temporarily discontinuing the patient’s Plavix