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CMS Proposes New Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug Plan Rule

Client Alert | 1 min read | 05.09.08

CMS issued today a proposed rule that would affect Medicare Advantage Organizations and Prescription Drug Plan Sponsors. The proposed rule would incorporate into regulation a number of requirements that CMS previously imposed through operational guidance and is based on "lessons learned since 2006." Among other changes, the proposed rule would impose new restrictions on MA marketing and sales activities including commission structures. The proposed rule would also codify CMS' guidance on best available evidence to determine low income subsidy eligibility, impose additional requirements on Special Needs Plans to ensure the plans focus on the needs of their target population, and expand CMS’ flexibility in determining penalties against Medicare Advantage Organizations and Prescription Drug Plan Sponsors.

A copy of the proposed rule has been submitted for publication in the Federal Register and is available on CMS’ website. Comments must be submitted by 5:00 pm ET on July 15, 2008.

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Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.26.25

From ‘Second’ to ‘First:’ Federal Circuit Tackles Obvious Claim Errors

Patent claims must be clear and definite, as they set the boundaries of the patentee’s rights. Occasionally, however, claim language contains errors, such as typographical mistakes or incorrect numbering. Courts possess very limited authority to correct such errors. The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has emphasized that judicial correction is appropriate only in rare circumstances, where (1) the error is evident from the face of the patent, and (2) the proposed correction is the sole reasonable interpretation in view of the claim language, specification, and prosecution history. See Group One, Ltd. v. Hallmark Cards, Inc., 407 F.3d 1297, 1303 (Fed. Cir. 2005) and Novo Indus., L.P. v. Micro Molds Corp., 350 F.3d 1348, 1357 (Fed. Cir. 2003)....