business news daily

Is Your Compliance Plan Protecting You?

Healthcare compliance plans are essential to ensure your practice is following the law. Your compliance plan can keep your practice out of trouble.

We can help you stay on top of the latest news that affects your everyday life. Subscribe to stay up to date. (To subscribe to our blog ).

A recent enforcement action highlights the need for an effective and updated compliance plan.

A physician in Arkansas has been sentenced to 102 months of prison time and to pay over $4.63 million in restitution. Following release from prison, he will have three (3) years of supervised release. He also was fined $2,200 for a special assessment.

The physician was found guilty of signing prescriptions for patients that he did not know or treat.

The physician was then found guilty of lying about his actions to the FBI. He claimed he only signed prescriptions for those he evaluated and denied receiving any kickbacks.

In response to a subpoena, he only turned over a small portion of records. He also fabricated medical records.

The Arkansas physician’s actions serve as a grave reminder that it is essential to follow your compliance plan. Once a bad act has been discovered, your compliance plan needs to be followed to repair and remedy any issues.

Your practice should have a thorough compliance plan in place and action plans in the event you find any issues.

Your staff should also be trained as to how to respond in the event of an investigation.

If you need help updating, auditing or enforcing your compliance plan, call our office today.

If you need help protecting your patient data, we can help. Contact Rickard & Associates today.

We know you’re busy. Subscribe to our blog to get updates and news sent directly to your inbox!

We publish vital information on health law topics and news every Wednesday and Friday. To get this important information delivered directly to your mailbox, subscribe today!

Do you need help updating your Business Associate Agreement or negotiating contracts with third-party vendors? We can help. To contact us about your Business Associate Agreement, your vendor contracts or your other legal needs, call us today.

Does Divorce Change My Estate Plan?

Yes! Even if you don’t have a written estate plan, you have an estate plan per the laws of your state. If you get divorced, the nature of your estate plan will change.

We can help you stay on top of the latest news that affects your everyday life. Subscribe to stay up to date. (To subscribe to our blog ).

If you have a written estate plan and get divorced, once your divorce is final, you need to update your plan.

It is likely your divorce may change things such as your:

  • legal name,
  • Trustees,
  • beneficiaries,
  • Power of attorney, and more.

Other than your estate plan, it is important to reassess:

  • jointly owned properties,
  • Beneficiaries on retirement accounts and life insurance,
  • Vehicle titles, and more.

If you have minor children, it is incredibly important to consider your estate plan because you will need to give thought to their guardianship and provide for their care if something were to happen to you.

While many situations that arise in life can impact your estate plan, a divorce will certainly require review and updates to your existing plan.

We recommend meeting with an estate planning attorney as soon as the divorce is finalized.

If you need help with your estate plan or following the death of a loved one, we can help.

Contact us today to help you get the right documents in place or to update your current estate plan. We will plan so that you don’t have to worry about your future.

We publish vital information every Wednesday and Friday. To get this important information delivered directly to your mailbox,

Contact us today with all your legal needs!

US Industrial Production Unexpectedly Unchanged In February

A report released by the Federal Reserve on Friday showed US industrial production was unexpectedly unchanged in the month of February.

The Fed said industrial production was unchanged in February following a revised 0.3 percent increase in January.

Economists had expected industrial production to rise by 0.2 percent compared to the unchanged reading originally reported for the previous month.

Industrial production came unchanged as a 0.1 percent uptick in manufacturing output and a 0.5 percent advance in utilities output were offset by a 0.6 percent drop in mining output.

Oren Klachkin, Lead US Economist at Oxford Economics, predicted industrial production will lose momentum later this year as the economy suffers a mild recession.

“Industrial output will struggle amid the challenges of weakening domestic demand, frail overseas demand, rising interest rates, and a strong US dollar,” Klachkin said.

“Turmoil in the banking sector corroborates our view that the economy is starting to feel the effects of monetary policy tightening,” he added. “We think more Fed rate hikes in the pipeline, so the risks to the outlook are tilted to the downside.”

The report also said capacity utilization in the industrial sector came in at 78.0 percent in February, unchanged from the revised figure for January.

Economists had expected capacity utilization to inch up to 78.4 percent from the 78.3 percent originally reported for the previous month.

Capacity utilization in the utilities sector crept up to 68.9 percent, while capacity utilization in the manufacturing and mining sectors dipped to 77.6 percent and 87.3 percent, respectively.

For comments and feedback contact: [email protected]

Business News

Musk posts video of himself strolling into Twitter HQ – Business News

Tom Krisher And Matt O’brien, The Associated Press – | Stories: 392791

Elon Musk posted video Wednesday showing him strolling into Twitter headquarters ahead of a Friday deadline to close his $44 billion deal to buy the company.

Musk also changed his Twitter profile to refer to himself as “Chief Twit” and his location as Twitter headquarters, which is based in San Francisco. The video showed him carrying a sink through a lobby area.

“Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in!” he tweeted.

A court has given Musk until Friday to close his April agreement to acquire the company after he earlier tried to back out of the deal. Neither Musk nor Twitter has said if the deal is closed yet.

Despite Musk’s splashy entry to headquarters, it wasn’t clear yet whether his purchase of Twitter had been finalized. Twitter confirmed that Musk’s video tweet was real but wouldn’t comment further. Alex Spiro, Musk’s lead lawyer, didn’t immediately return a request for comment.

The Washington Post reported last week that Musk told prospective investors that he plans to cut three quarters of Twitter’s 7,500 workers when he becomes owner of the company. The newspapers cited documents and unnamed sources familiar with the deliberation.

One of Musk’s biggest obstacles to closing the deal was keeping in place the financing pledged roughly six months ago.

A group of banks, including Morgan Stanley and Bank of America, signed earlier this year to loan $12.5 billion of the money Musk needed to buy Twitter and take it private. Solid contracts with Musk bound the banks to the financing, although changes in the economy and debt markets since April have likely made the terms less attractive. Musk even said his investment group would be buying Twitter for more than it’s worth.

Less clear is what’s happening with the billions of dollars pledged to Musk by investors who would get ownership stakes in Twitter. Musk’s original slate of equity partners included an array of partners ranging from the billionaire’s tech world friends with like-minded ideas about Twitter’s future, such as Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, to funds controlled by Middle Eastern royalty.

The more equity investors kick in for the deal, the less Musk has to pay on his own. Most of his wealth is tied up in shares of Tesla, the electric car company that he runs. Since April, he has sold more than $15 billion worth of Tesla stock, presumably to pay his share. More sales could be coming.

Musk’s flirtation with buying Twitter appeared to begin in late March. That’s when Twitter said he contacted members of its board — including co-founder Jack Dorsey — and told them he was buying up shares and was interested in either joining the board, taking Twitter private or starting a competitor.

Then, on April 4, he revealed in a regulatory filing that he had become the company’s largest shareholder after acquiring a 9% stake worth about $3 billion.

At first, Twitter offered Musk a seat on its board. But six days later, CEO Parag Agrawal tweeted that Musk would not be joining the board after all. His bid to buy the company quickly followed.

When Musk agreed to buy Twitter, he inserted a “420” marijuana reference into his price of $54.20 per share. He sold roughly $15 billion worth of shares in Tesla to help fund the purchase, then pulled together commitments for billions more from a diverse group of investors including Silicon Valley heavy hitters like Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison.

Inside Twitter, Musk’s offer was met with confusion and falling morale, especially after Musk publicly criticized one of Twitter’s top lawyers involved in content-moderation decisions.

In July, Musk abruptly reversed course, announcing that he was abandoning his bid to buy Twitter. His stated reason: Twitter had not been straightforward about its problem with fake accounts he dubbed “spam bots.” Twitter sued Musk in the Delaware Chancery Court to force the deal through. Two weeks before a 5-day trial was scheduled to begin, Musk changed his mind again, saying that he wanted to complete the deal after all.

Estate Planning Mistakes to Avoid in the New Year

As we come to the end of the year and are looking toward a new year, we recommend that our clients reevaluate their estate plans.

We can help you stay on top of the latest news that affects your everyday life. Subscribe to stay up to date. (To subscribe to our blog ).

Estate plans are incredibly important to protect future wishes, assets and families.

Often, we see the same mistakes repeated over and over in estate planning. Some of the most common estate planning mistakes are the following:

  1. Not having an estate plan. The biggest issue we see in estate planning is not having an estate plan at all. This can lead to family disputes, unfollowed wishes regarding your own healthcare or finances, and putting your assets at risk. Estate plans are not just for the wealthy. Estate plans are for everyone and should be a priority if you don’t have one.
  2. Not dealing with assets properly. Sometimes, we have clients come to us with outdated estate plans or estate plans that don’t adequately protect their assets. We help our clients draft personal property memorandums to best distribute tangible items. We also help clients structure their documents to best protect their other financial and digital assets that they may have.
  3. Not hiring an attorney. If you have thought about using online software to create your will or trust, you might want to rethink that idea. Online wills and trusts can lead to disaster. They might not be legally binding, they may not follow the updated state laws, and they will not be tailored to best protect your needs. Online wills can lead to long probate disputes and family feuds. Hire an estate planning attorney to make sure that you have a well-drafted estate plan that protects your individual interests and assets.
  4. Not planning for incapacity. Many people think that estate plans are only for rich people when they die. This is not true. Estate plans are useful tools to help everyone in the event of incapacity. What happens if you get into a car wreck or are stranded in another country and need someone to help out with your finances at home? It is essential that you have the correct Power of Attorney documents in place to protect your healthcare and financial wishes. No matter the amount of assets you have, you want to protect your future wishes regarding your healthcare and finances.
  5. Not updating your estate plan. Estate plans need to be updated as situations and laws change. Sometimes, you want to change the beneficiaries of your estate plan or the people you have chosen to be your trustee or power of attorney. You may also experience changes to your financial situation which will impact your documents. It is essential to review your estate plan and reevaluate it with your attorney.

Contact us today to create or update your tailored estate plan. We will help you to avoid the common estate planning mistakes and make sure that you, your family and your assets are best protected.

Happy New Year from Rickard & Associates!

Contact us today to help you get the right documents in place or to update your current estate plan. We will plan so that you don’t have to worry about your future.

We publish vital information every Wednesday and Friday. To get this important information delivered directly to your mailbox,

Contact us today with all your legal needs!

Enterprise Council of Canada says Nexus closure ‘deeply troubling’

OTTAWA –

The Enterprise Council of Canada says it’s involved over the continued closure of the Nexus trusted-traveller program, which permits pre-screened vacationers expedited processing when getting into america and Canada.

CEO Goldy Hyder says it’s “deeply troubling” that the US authorities has not reopened 13 Nexus enrolment centres, in a letter to David Cohen, the American ambassador to Canada, obtained by The Canadian Press.

The 2 nations are in dispute over a long-standing request by the US Customs and Border Safety company that its brokers be afforded the identical authorized protections inside Nexus amenities in Canada that they presently have at ports of entry like airports and the Canada-US border .

Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino has cited the ideas of Canadian sovereignty in explaining why US customs officers cannot have the identical authorized protections at Nexus facilities that they do at airports and the border.

Hyder says in his letter to Cohen that he fears the dispute will damage companies whose workers don’t have already got a Nexus card and he strongly urges the ambassador to suggest reopening the enrolment centres.

His feedback come on the heels of Canada’s envoy to the US saying this system is being “held hostage” by unilateral American efforts to renegotiate the preclearance settlement between america and its northern neighbour.

“There’s an try and renegotiate the phrases of a 20-year-old program unilaterally and this system is being held hostage to that effort,” Kirsten Hillman instructed a symposium on the Canada-US border hosted final week by the Future Borders Coalition.

This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed Oct. 16, 2022.