On September 25, 2020, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a press release announcing that Premera Blue Cross (Premera) had agreed to pay $6,850,000 and...more
On September 23, 2020, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that CHSPSC LLC, (CHSPSC) agreed to pay $2,300,000 and adopt a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) to...more
On September 21, 2020 the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announced that Athens Orthopedic Clinic PA (AOC) agreed to pay $1,500,000, enter into a Resolution...more
On September 15, 2020, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that it had settled five investigations under its HIPAA Right of Access Initiative....more
On September 1, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published in the Federal Register a proposed rule that, if finalized, would establish a Medicare coverage pathway to provide Medicare beneficiaries with...more
On July 27, 2020, the United State Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that Lifespan Health System Affiliated Covered Entity (Lifespan) has agreed to pay $1,040,000 and...more
On July 23, 2020 the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announced a $25,000 Resolution Agreement and Corrective Action Plan (CAP) with Metropolitan Community Health...more
On July 16, 2020, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf announced a new $50 million grant program to “help employers provide hazard pay to employees in life-sustaining occupations during the COVID-19 pandemic” (the “Grant Program”)....more
In February 2020, just prior to COVID-19 dominating the news, wreaking havoc on the health care delivery system and leading to tens of thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of positive cases, the Equal Employment...more
On June 5, 2020, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a request for information (RFI) published in the Federal Register seeking comments from health care...more
As many parts of the country see lower and stable incidence rates of COVID-19, medical practices are taking steps to reopen or expand clinical services within their physical offices. This guide provides practical advice for...more
INTRODUCTION - The health care world – in fact, THE WORLD – has changed significantly since March with the onset of COVID-19. As we collectively work to return to a “new normal,” the health care delivery system will be one of...more
As states begin the process of “reopening,” Pennsylvania and New Jersey have taken important steps that directly affect physicians. On May 9, the Pennsylvania Department of Health issued a revised guidance document for health...more
On May 8, there were two new developments in Pennsylvania that help psychologists and dentists and their respective patients as the Commonwealth continues to take steps to reopen in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. First,...more
On May 6, 2020, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed an executive order providing a wide range of health care practitioners with protection from civil liability for good faith actions taken during the COVID-19 pandemic. This...more
While we would normally be fixated on April 15th being “tax day”, the COVID-19 pandemic is appropriately the focus of all our collective energies and appreciation for the health care providers who are treating those who...more
On March 28, 2020, in connection with the recently enacted Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it is expanding its accelerated and advance...more
4/8/2020
/ Accelerated Payments ,
CARES Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
Medicare ,
Nursing Homes ,
Physicians ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Relief Measures
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on April 2, 2020 that it will not impose penalties for violations of certain provisions of the HIPAA Privacy Rule against...more
On March 23, 2020, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed Executive Order 109 ordering that all elective surgeries performed on adults be suspended in the state after 5:00 p.m. on Friday, March 27 in light of the COVID-19...more
Several telemedicine provisions were recently updated at the federal level in an effort to increase patient access to health care services, and New Jersey enacted a telemedicine statute on March 19 in an attempt to address...more
On March 18, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Delaware Governor John Carney issued a second modification to his March 12, 2020 state of emergency declaration. ...more
On March 17, 2020, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced it is temporarily easing enforcement of certain regulations issued under the Health Insurance Portability and...more
On March 17, 2020, the Trump administration announced expanded Medicare telehealth coverage allowing Medicare beneficiaries greater access to health care services in the safety of their homes as a “temporary resource.”...more
As health care providers prepare for an increase in patients infected or who suspect they are infected with the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19), providers have many considerations to ensure they maintain regulatory...more
It is no surprise that the health care delivery system continues to rapidly evolve through mergers, acquisitions, affiliations and consolidations. Through these changes, an increasing number of physicians are becoming...more