professional license defense attorney | The Health Law Firm Blog

Court Says Walmart’s Firing Violated Arizona’s Medical Marijuana Law

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On March 22, 2019, the U.S. District Court in Arizona granted summary judgment on anti-discrimination claims in favor of the plaintiff former employee and against Walmart under Arizona’s medical marijuana statute. The plaintiff, a former employee of Walmart, had been terminated after allegedly testing positive for marijuana.

This case is significant because as more states are adopting medical marijuana laws, this represents the growing risks to employers who engage in adverse employment actions against medical marijuana users. Furthermore, since the decision was in federal court, it […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:00:15-04:00April 23, 2019|Marijuana Law Blog|

Florida Gov. Pulls Large Number of Appointments Made by Predecessor, One from Board of Acupuncture

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On February 22, 2019, Florida’s new Governor, Rick DeSantis retracted 169 appointments that the former governor made before leaving office. One of these was to the Florida Board of Acupuncture. This is not the first time he has called back last-minute decisions made by his predecessor. In January 2019, he retracted 46 of Scott’s “lame duck appointments.”

The new governor has now pulled a total of 215 of Scott’s prior appointments to various boards and committees.

Here’s a List of the Appointments Made by Scott That Governor DeSantis Pulled for the Professional Boards Under the Department of Health […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:00:16-04:00April 1, 2019|Massage Law Blog|

DeSantis Rescinds Large Number of Appointments Made by Former Governor, One from Board of Dentistry

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On February 22, 2019, Florida’s new Governor, Rick DeSantis retracted 169 appointments that the former governor made before leaving office. One of these was to the Florida Board of Dentistry. This is not the first time he has called back last-minute decisions made by his predecessor. In January 2019, he retracted 46 of Scott’s “lame duck appointments.”

The new governor has now pulled a total of 215 of Scott’s prior appointments to various boards and committees.

Here’s a List of the Appointments Made by Scott That Governor DeSantis Pulled for the Professional Boards Under the Department […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:00:16-04:00March 25, 2019|Dental Law Blog|

DeSantis Yanks Large Number of Appointments Made by Former Governor, Several on Board of Nursing

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On February 22, 2019, Florida’s new Governor, Rick DeSantis retracted 169 appointments that the former governor made before leaving office. Several of these were appointments that had been made to the Florida Board of Nursing. This is not the first time he has called back last-minute decisions made by his predecessor. In January 2019, he retracted 46 of Scott’s “lame duck appointments.”

The new governor has now pulled a total of 215 of Scott’s prior appointments to various boards and committees.

Here’s a List of the Appointments Made by Scott That Governor DeSantis Pulled for the […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:00:16-04:00March 25, 2019|Nursing Law Blog|

Federal Court in Connecticut Rules Workers Can’t Be Denied Jobs for Medical Marijuana Use

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On December 7, 2018, a federal judge in Connecticut ruled that a nursing home violated an anti-discrimination provision of the state’s medical marijuana law when it rescinded an employee’s job offer. It’s the latest in a series of similar clashes between federal and state laws around the country that came out in favor of medical marijuana users trying to keep or obtain jobs with drug-testing employers. The ruling provided clarification on medical marijuana use under the Connecticut Palliative Use […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:00:17-04:00January 30, 2019|Marijuana Law Blog|

New Update to the Medicare Program Integrity Manual Issued by CMS

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On June 1, 2018, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued further guidance for reporting and reviewing final adverse legal actions (ALAs) in provider enrollment applications. Section 15.5.3 of the Medicare Program Integrity Manual (MPIM) was updated through Transmittal 797 to provide more guidance on the types of final adverse actions that must be disclosed. It also provides additional instruction to Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) on how to process disclosed final adverse actions.

New Language Basics.

The update in Section 15.5.3 of the MPIM clarifies the scope of disclosure, the time frames for disclosure and the […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:00:23-04:00September 7, 2018|Health Facilities Law Blog|

Illinois Implements New Regulations That Allow Psychologists to Prescribe

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

Illinois clinical psychologists can now obtain licenses to prescribe medications for mental conditions under new regulations passed by the state. The new regulations issued by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) took effect in October 2017.

Psychologists traditionally have not had the authority to write prescriptions for medications, except in a very few states. Therefore, their patients have been unable to obtain psychotropic medications to treat their mental illnesses without seeing a physician, or in some cases a nurse practitioner or physician assistant with prescribing authority. This makes such treatment […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:28-04:00May 15, 2018|Mental Health Law Blog|

Illinois Implements New Regulations That Allow Psychologists to Prescribe

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

Illinois clinical psychologists can now obtain licenses to prescribe medications for mental conditions under new regulations passed by the state. The new regulations issued by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) took effect in October 2017.

Psychologists traditionally have not had the authority to write prescriptions for medications, except in a very few states. Therefore, their patients have been unable to obtain psychotropic medications to treat their mental illnesses without seeing a physician, or in some cases a nurse practitioner or physician assistant with prescribing authority. This makes such treatment of mental […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:33-04:00May 15, 2018|Pharmacy Law Blog|

Illinois Implements New Regulations That Allow Psychologists to Prescribe

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

Illinois clinical psychologists can now obtain licenses to prescribe medications for mental conditions under new regulations passed by the state. The new regulations issued by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) took effect in October 2017.

Psychologists traditionally have not had the authority to write prescriptions for medications, except in a very few states. Therefore, their patients have been unable to obtain psychotropic medications to treat their mental illnesses without seeing a physician, or in some cases a nurse practitioner or physician assistant with prescribing authority. This makes such treatment of mental illness more […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:34-04:00May 15, 2018|Health Facilities Law Blog|

Consequences of Having Your Massage Therapy License Suspended or Revoked

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

If you are a massage therapist or other health care professional whose license has been recently revoked or suspended, there may still be hope. Many massage therapists, when confronted with an investigation against their license, do not fight the charges. Sometimes they decide it is cheaper and easier just to give up their license. Either choice is likely to be a big mistake.

A charge or complaint can be filed causing an investigation to be opened against a massage therapist, often without any […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:48-04:00May 15, 2018|Massage Law Blog|