Iowa’s fetal heartbeat law, House File 732, which was signed into law by Governor Kim Reynolds in 2023, will go into effect on Monday, July 29. The law has been temporarily enjoined from enforcement since last July, however a...more
Last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published their much-anticipated rules mandating COVID-19 vaccinations. ...more
11/9/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appeals ,
Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hospitals ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
New Guidance ,
Physicians ,
Popular ,
Preemption ,
Stays ,
Supremacy Clause ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations
In just two weeks, on January 19, 2021, a sweeping set of changes to the federal physician self-referral law (or “Stark Law”) and anti-kickback statute (“AKS”) regulations go into effect. These changes, which are part of the...more
In 2018, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) launched what it calls a “Regulatory Sprint to Coordinated Care” to accelerate a transformation of the healthcare system, with a focus on removing “unnecessary...more
On March 30, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued certain blanket waivers of sanctions under the federal physician self-referral law (or “Stark Law”) for “COVID-19 Purposes” (the “Stark Blanket...more
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to rapid and drastic changes to health care delivery in the United States, including as it relates to arrangements between health care providers and physicians that may implicate the federal...more
In light of the novel coronavirus pandemic, health care practitioners should be aware of relaxed guidelines for prescribing controlled substance. This blog post describes when practitioners can prescribe controlled substances...more
In the calendar year 2020 Medicare physician fee schedule final rule (“PFS”), which was published in the Federal Register on November 15, 2019 (available here), CMS finalized changes to the advisory opinion process under the...more
11/21/2019
/ Advisory Opinions ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Medicare ,
OIG ,
Physician Fee Schedule ,
Physicians ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Request For Information ,
Stark Law
Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) each released their long-anticipated proposed rules to revise the federal...more
10/11/2019
/ Advisory Opinions ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
OIG ,
Physician Fee Schedule ,
Physicians ,
Proposed Rules ,
Safe Harbors ,
SAMHSA ,
Stark Law
On April 22, 2019, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced two sweeping new payment innovation models under the Primary Cares Initiatives. The models will seek to incentivize primary care and other...more
4/26/2019
/ ACOs ,
Alternative Payment Models (APM) ,
Cardiac Episode Payment Program ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
CMMI ,
Episode Payment Models (EPM) ,
Fee-for-Service ,
Health Care Providers ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Physicians ,
Request For Information ,
Value-Based Care
Today, the Federal Government announced enforcement actions against 60 defendants in eleven federal districts, including 31 doctors, seven pharmacists, eight nurse practitioners, and seven other licensed medical professional...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is “actively working” on updates to regulations under the federal physician self-referral law (or “Stark Law”), according to CMS Administrator Seema Verma during a March 4,...more
Today, in a move that is widely supported by those in both political parties and across the country, President Trump declared the opioid epidemic a national emergency. Doing so will allow for additional resources to be used...more
8/11/2017
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Controlled Substances ,
Drug & Alcohol Abuse ,
Medicare Part D ,
Opioid ,
Pending Legislation ,
Pharmacies ,
Physicians ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Trump Administration
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its 2018 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule on July 13, 2017. The proposed rule, among other things, proposes to cut Medicare payments for services...more
On July 13, 2017, CMS released a proposed rule as part of its 2018 Outpatient Prospective Payment System proposals that is aimed at helping to reduce some of the burdens rural hospitals experience in recruiting physicians....more
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published its 2017 Medicare Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) proposed rule on July 14, 2016 (the Proposed Rule). In part, the Proposed Rule addresses CMS’s...more
7/15/2016
/ Alternative Payment Models (APM) ,
Bipartisan Budget Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Comment Period ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
MPFS ,
Off-Campus Departments ,
OPPS ,
Physicians ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Section 340B
In its CY 2016 physician fee schedule proposed rule, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) proposes significant amendments and clarifications to the federal physician self-referral regulations, commonly known...more