BW INSIGHTS

General Overview of Iowa Tax Reform

Following in Congressional footsteps, the Iowa General Assembly recently passed historical tax reform, purporting to cut individual income tax in excess of $1.5 billion and corporate income tax of at least $100 million over five years. This reduction, however, is partially offset by an estimated increase in sales and use tax collection of $700... Read More

Go Ahead and Challenge That Patent....Anyone!

Post grant proceedings survive the gavel of the Supreme Court. On April 24, 2018, the Supreme Court issued two decisions upholding the validity of post grant proceedings (“PGPs”). A PGP is a trial proceeding conducted at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) to review the patentability of one or more claims in a patent. PGPs allow a third... Read More

Beware of the Copyright Troll!!!

For the last five years many people have received letters alleging they infringed another party’s copyrights. The story for these people is almost always the same. They found an image they liked on the internet, noticed it wasn’t marked with a copyright notice, assumed it was free to use, and copied the image. What they didn’t know is that almost... Read More

Governor Signed SF2334 Into Law

On April 2, 2018, the Governor signed SF2334 into law. SF2334 requires Iowa certificate of need approval prior to the conversion of a long-term acute care hospital, rehabilitation hospital, or psychiatric hospital, to a general hospital or another type of specialty hospital. Read More

Limited English Proficiency Policies

Health care providers and other covered entities likely encounter individuals in their practice that are diverse in language, ethnicity, and religion. As communities continue to diversify, it is important for covered entities to understand their legal obligations to populations who may not speak English as a primary language. Title VI of the Civil... Read More

Are You Ready if a Sexual Harassment Scandal Hits Your Business? - Part III

As outlined in our earlier posts, business leaders are subject to increasing scrutiny in light of the national dialogue happening right now. This movement is not limited to the arena of celebrities and politicians. Does your business know what to do if allegations are lodged against your CEO or other critical managers? Given the spotlight being... Read More

Surrogacy Contracts Are Enforceable in Iowa

In a highly-anticipated ruling, the Iowa Supreme Court today ruled that gestational surrogacy contracts are enforceable in Iowa. The case involved a couple who were unable to conceive a child together. They entered an agreement with another couple, whereby the wife agreed to carry a child for the intended parents in exchange for compensation for... Read More

Iowa's State Health Facilities Council Approves Over $6 Million of New Projects

The State Health Facilities Council (the “Council”) met on February 21, 2018, and granted a certificate of need (“CON”) to each of the following projects by a vote of 4-0: The purchase of a 3.0 Tesla MRI by the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics at a cost of $2,681,912. The purchase of a PET/CT system by the University of Iowa Hospitals and... Read More

Iowa Medicaid Providers Subject to Increased Scrutiny for Medicaid Overpayments

On January 23, 2018, the Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) announced that it will begin using statistical sampling to determine whether Iowa Medicaid providers have received overpayments from Iowa Medicaid Enterprise (IME), including from the Managed Care Organizations (MCOs), and the Iowa Dental Wellness Plan. Pursuant to Informational... Read More