Nephrology and Dialysis Practices
MAY 26, 2022
Medtronic, DaVita forming kidney tech company to
develop dialysis delivery systems
The healthtech and the dialysis provider will be 50-50 partners in the venture, which will include the entirety of Medtronic's renal care business: renal access and acute and chronic therapy devices, as well as pipeline products, R&D teams and manufacturing facilities. However, Medtronic notes that neither the AV access portfolio nor the peripheral vascular health business are included in the collaboration. Ven Manda, president of Medtronic's renal care segment, will take on the role of chief executive of the new firm, which won't be named until the deal closes, likely in the next 12 months.
SOURCE: Medtronic
MAY 27, 2022
Benesch: CO doubles down on barriers to
restrictive covenants with bill expected to become law in
Aug.
Colorado's Misdemeanor Reform law, SB21-271, went into effect in Mar., with one provision (8-2-113), making it a Class 2 misdemeanor to intimidate workers subject to non-compete agreements, punishable by up to 120 days in jail, a fine of $750 or both. That law restricts non-compete agreements to:
- The sale or purchase of a business;
- The protection of trade secrets;
- Executives or management personnel; and
- The recovery of expenses relating to education or training.
Meanwhile, a second piece of legislation, HB22-1317, would go even further. Benesch Law Partner J. Scott Humphrey explains that under this law, in CO, no employee earning less than a highly compensated worker (2022: $101,252/yr.) could be party to a non-competition agreement, while no employee earning less than 60% of a highly compensated worker (2022: $60,750/yr.) could be party to either a non-competition agreement or a non-solicitation agreement. It would also include language that waters down the trade secrets provisions of the earlier law. Humphrey states there are a few carrots with the stick, as the provisions wouldn't be retroactive and companies could recoup education and training expenses. The bill also requires restrictive covenants be in writing, have clear and conspicuous language and be signed by the employee. Failure to comply with notice requirements could result in CO companies being fined $5,000 per employee, on top of the criminal penalties in the earlier law. With Gov. Jared Polis expected to sign HB22-317, Humphrey says the law could be in force in Aug., giving companies operating in CO a little time to ensure their restrictive covenants comply with state laws.
SOURCE: Benesch Law
MAY 17, 2022
DaVita settles lawsuit with supermarket chain over
how its health plan covers kidney treatments
The employee benefit plan of Boise-based WinCo Foods was accused by DaVita in 2018 of effectively removing in-network coverage for dialysis. The dialysis provider says this was accomplished in two ways:
- The plan began working with a company called EthiCare Advisors, which wasn't named as a defendant in the case. The complaint stated that beneficiaries with ESRD wanting in-network treatment had to get treated by providers within EthiCare's network. However, it was alleged there was no EthiCare network; and
- The plan sliced payments for out-of-network dialysis treatment to DaVita for dialysis work on WinCo beneficiaries.
WinCo managed to get part of the lawsuit tossed in 2019 before agreeing to the settlement with DaVita. WinCo's employee benefits plan must maintain network coverage for dialysis treatment and not make dialysis coverage conditional on a member's Medicare eligibility. The company is also paying DaVita an unspecified monetary amount.
SOURCE: Bloomberg Law (sub. rec.)
MAY 16, 2022
Fresenius subsidiary loses NLRB case involving working
conditions at PR dialysis center
Four unionized nurses at Biomedical Applications of Puerto Rico were disciplined by the Fresenius subsidiary for speaking out about the lack of air conditioning at the facility and for delaying dialysis treatment while the issue was resolved. The employer said not starting therapy when directed was a breach of its workplace policy and the nurses' code of ethics but the nurses countered that the excessive heat in the facility would make administering care difficult. A decision from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) finds that the nurses' actions didn't constitute a work stoppage, as the employer contended, adding that the delay in treatment didn't create such a risk of harm to patients that the nurses' rights under the National Labor Relations Act should be deprived. Biomedical Applications was ordered to make whole one nurse who was suspended for five days over the incident and to expunge the employment records of all four nurses of any disciplinary reference.
SOURCE: Law360 (sub. rec.)
Benesch Healthcare+ Dialysis & Nephrology Digest No. 29
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