Although this may have been a "mild" winter in Baltimore and Washington, it was certainly not a boring one. Developments relating to fraud and abuse issues continued to occupy many headlines in the national health care trade journals. This includes the issuance by the OIG of three Advisory Opinions, one Special Fraud Alert, and the publication of "non-binding" guidelines relating to the imposition of permissive exclusions. All of these documents are described in this issue of the Health Law Alert.

Of course, the most important development during this time was the publication on January 9, 1998 by the Health Care Financing Administration of proposed regulations implementing Stark II. Although these regulations may ultimately have a significant impact upon the health care industry, it is important to remember that they are "proposed" rules. They do not have the force of law. That is not to say that they should be ignored, for they should not. The publication provides substantial guidance with respect to HCFA's interpretation of the statutory provisions. At the same time, the proposed regulations do not answer all (most?) of the questions which existed prior to their publication. Further, and perhaps more troubling, they raise many new questions. We will be providing our interpretation and view of the proposed regulations as a series of articles in upcoming issues of the Health Law Alert. We hope that this approach will provide you with meaningful guidance in a manageable format. In addition, I participated in the development, by the American Health Lawyers Association, of a comprehensive analysis of the proposed regulations. In my view, that analysis is as meaningful and insightful as any of the others being circulated. If you are interested in receiving a copy of that analysis, please contact Ober|Kaler directly by mail, telephone, or e-mail. We will be happy to send you a copy.

This issue of the Health Law Alert includes a number of articles addressing issues of general application to our long term care, managed care, home health, and hospice clients. We also review the corporate compliance "guidelines" for hospitals issued by the OIG. As with the guidelines previously issued with respect to clinical laboratories, the publication is useful but in all likelihood will not be fully applicable, or acceptable, to many institutional providers. Rather than serving as a final product, the document should serve as a starting point for the development of a corporate compliance program by hospitals which have not yet begun such efforts. Existing programs will probably not require substantial revisions as a result of this publication.

Finally, we welcome Kim Tarver and Janet DiAntonio to our Health Law Department. Kim's government background and Janet's private practice and in-house experience should bring valuable perspectives to the guidance we provide to our clients.

We look forward to working with our many clients and friends during the year and to receiving your valuable input with respect to the format and content of the Health Law Alert.

Sandy Teplitzky, Department Chair