Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP is pleased to announce that 80 lawyers are recognized in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America, with ten receiving this honor for the first time. Additionally, 22 Hinshaw lawyers are included in The Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch.

Katie Anderson has joined Hinshaw’s Health Care practice group in the Springfield, Illinois, office. She brings significant in-house experience at a hospital and regional health system, in addition to private law practice.

The national law firm of Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP is pleased to announce that 75 of the firm's lawyers have been selected by their peers for inclusion in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. In addition, 30 Hinshaw lawyers were selected by their peers for inclusion in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch.

Adam Guetzow recently spoke to McKnights Long Term Care News about a reported increase in involuntary nursing home discharges amid mounting fiscal and liability pressures. In an article published earlier this week, the AARP suggested nursing homes are eager to move out needy residents, and urged family caregivers to work with a local long-term care ombudsman to appeal and spot “illegal violations.”

Read Michael Dowell’s BioXconomy interview, where he explains California SB 41 PBM reforms—rebate pass-throughs, fiduciary duties, and transparency—and offers practical compliance steps.

Read Hinshaw partner Michael Dowell's article in the October 2025 edition of the U.S. Pharmacist, which explores how telepharmacy and remote dispensing are being used to combat the rising number of pharmacy closures and pharmacy deserts in underserved urban and rural areas.

Hinshaw is pleased to sponsor the Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network's (ICAHN) Annual Conference on November 4, 2025, at the I-Hotel and Conference Center in Champaign, Illinois. This premier event is ICAHN’s largest member gathering of the year. 

Frank A. Mazzagatti will present at the annual conference of The New York State Pain Society on November 2, 2025, at One World Trade Center, New York City. 

Hinshaw attorneys David Alfini, Aimee Delaney, Adam Guetzow, Frank Mazzagatti, and Amanda Tzivas are slated to speak at the LeadingAge Illinois 2025 Annual Meeting & Expo, which is sponsored by Hinshaw.

The IRS adopted final regulations on December 29, 2014, implementing the new Internal Revenue Code Section 501(r) requirements for hospitals to maintain 501(c)(3) federal tax-exempt status. The final regulations apply to taxable years beginning on or after December 29, 2015. In the interim period, compliance with 501(r) requires a hospital to operate with a reasonable, good faith interpretation of the law, which is defined to mean compliance with the proposed or final regulations. Now is the time for hospitals to review their financial assistance policy and application form, to develop a plain language summary of the policy, and to update billing and collection policies. The final regulations affirm hospitals must proactively determine whether patients qualify for financial assistance including directing patients to resources for assistance in completing the application process. 

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requires that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) establish the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program (the Program), which is designed to provide federal reimbursement to participating plan sponsors for a portion of the costs of providing health coverage to qualifying early retirees. This Alert summarizes the key elements of the Program and reviews the steps that plan sponsors must take in order to apply for Program reimbursements. On June 7, 2010, an application for participation in the Program was published in draft form on the HHS website. The application process has not yet been opened, but will begin sometime prior to June 30, 2010. The date on which applications will begin to be accepted, along with information as to how and where to send completed applications, will be posted on the HHS website in the coming weeks. Applications will be processed in the order in which they are received, and incomplete applications will be denied and must be resubmitted. Overview of the Program

Lebron v. Gottlieb Memorial Hosp.  

Read our healthcare team’s alert for implementation guidance to prepare before the Illinois Medical Aid in Dying Act takes effect on September 12, 2026.

Learn about the requirements for healthcare businesses to comply with Florida’s new mandate on timely refunds for patient overpayments, effective January 1, 2026.

Read our latest alert on California’s SB 41 for a practical compliance roadmap—implementation timeline, immediate next steps, a 30-day action checklist, and ongoing planning guidance to align PBM practices by January 1, 2026.

The use of a loan receipt agreement to fund the defense of an insured when more than one insurer owes a defense was common practice in Minnesota following the Minnesota Supreme Court's ruling in Iowa National Mutual Ins. Co. v. Univ. Underwriters Ins. Co., 150 N.W.2d 233 (1967). Under the Iowa National rule, if a primary insurer had a duty to defend, it was non-delegable and a primary insurer was barred from seeking contribution against another primary insurer for defense fees and costs it paid to defend a mutual insured. Insurers adopted the practice of obtaining a loan receipt agreement from the insured, which would secure the insurer’s right to recover defense fees and costs in a subsequent action brought against the other primary insurers under the name of the insured. This worked quite well, except when an insured, such as Cargill, Incorporated for example, refused to sign a loan receipt agreement. Recognizing that it was in the minority on this issue, the Minnesota Supreme Court took the opportunity to change the rules in Cargill, Incorporated v. Ace Am. Ins. Co., et al., 784 N.W.2d 341 (2010). Cargill was sued by the state of Oklahoma in 1995 for allegedly polluting land and water in the Illinois River Watershed as a result of its poultry waste practices. Cargill tendered the case to its insurers, including Liberty Mutual, and requested a defense and indemnity. Not liking the responses it received from the insurers, Cargill chose to defend itself and sued the insurers. Several insurers offered to pay their reasonable share of defense fees and costs if Cargill executed a loan receipt agreement. Cargill refused to sign, concerned that if it did so, the insurers would have the right of contribution against Cargill because some of its primary liability policies were "fronted." Under these policies, Cargill would owe as a retrospective premium the amount that some of its primary insurers paid to defend Cargill. The case went up to the Minnesota Supreme Court, which ultimately overruled its opinion in Iowa National and held that "where more than one primary insurer covers the same risk and an insurer discharges a common obligation also belonging to another insurer . . . a right to equitable contribution should exist in these circumstances." The Court adopted an equal shares approach to apportioning defense fees and costs amongst co-primary insurers. The Court also cautioned that if an insurer breaches its duty to defend, it may be precluded from seeking equitable contribution if the insurer is ultimately forced to pay.Practice Note: In Minnesota, if an insurer owes a defense to an insured already being defended by another insurer, it should offer to contribute an equal share. An insurer paying for the entire defense is no longer dependent on the agreement of the insured to secure its rights to pursue the non-contributing insurer. There is no benefit for delaying or denying a defense if owed.