The Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) recently issued the final “HHS Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2026” (hereinafter referred to as the “Rule”)...more
On August 2, 2024, the United States Fifth Circuit affirmed the rulings in the No Surprises Act litigation brought by the Texas Medical Association and other plaintiffs challenging the August 2022 Final Rule that has been...more
On July 3, 2024, a federal court in Texas stayed provisions of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (“CMS”) contract year 2025 Final Rule that amended the longstanding Medicare Advantage (“MA”) and Part D agent and...more
7/8/2024
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Compensation ,
Contract Terms ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Final Rules ,
Medicare Advantage ,
Medicare Part D ,
Popular ,
Stays ,
Texas
On January 17, 2024, the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and the Treasury (collectively, the “Departments”) and the Office of Personnel Management issued a notice that they will reopen the period for...more
On January 30, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released the long-delayed final rule on risk adjustment data validation (“RADV”) audits of Medicare Advantage (“MA”) organizations (the “Final...more
Social determinants of health (“SDOH”) consider the non-clinical factors that can profoundly impact an individual’s well-being. They are extensive and often overlap, including housing instability, food insecurity, the...more
Introduction On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (the “Act”). The Act provides for nearly $1.7 trillion in funding across a range of domestic initiatives, including certain...more
1/6/2023
/ Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Hospitals ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
New Legislation ,
Physician Medicare Reimbursements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Telehealth
The Inflation Reduction Act (“IRA”) was signed into law by President Biden on August 16, 2022. The expansive legislation includes key health care provisions, including drug pricing reforms, inflationary rebates, Medicare Part...more
Last month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector (“OIG”) released a report that studied prior authorization denials and payment denials by Medicare Advantage Organizations (“MAOs”) (the...more
On March 2, 2022, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office of the Inspector General (the “OIG”) issued a new advisory opinion (“AO 22-04”) related to a program through which the Requestor would provide...more
On March 4th, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland struck down four provisions of the Trump Administration’s Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2019, 83 Fed. Reg. 16930 (April 17, 2018) (the “Rule”),...more
On February 26, 2021, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Treasury issued Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the implementation of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”), the...more
3/3/2021
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Health Insurance ,
Insurance Industry ,
Non-Grandfathered Health Plans ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
On October 29, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), the Department of Labor, and the Department of the Treasury (collectively, the “Departments”) released the Transparency in Coverage Final Rules (the...more
11/14/2020
/ Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Final Rules ,
Health Insurance ,
Negotiated Rate Agreements ,
Non-Grandfathered Health Plans ,
Out-of-Pocket Expenses ,
Prescription Drug Coverage ,
Pricing Requirements ,
Transparency ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (the “OIG”) released a report highlighting concerns about the extent to which Medicare Advantage Organizations (“MAOs”) are...more
On Friday, March 27, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) was enacted. Organized below are concise summaries of select CARES Act sections that will impact various sectors of the health...more
3/31/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
FQHC ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
Material Adverse Change Clauses (MACs) ,
Relief Measures ,
SBA ,
Telehealth ,
Waivers
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court upheld a D.C. Circuit Court decision vacating a policy of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) that would have “dramatically – and retroactively – reduced payments to...more
6/7/2019
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Azar v Allina Health Services ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Hospitals ,
Low-Income Issues ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Advantage ,
Medicare Part A ,
Medicare Part C ,
Notice and Comment ,
Pay Reductions ,
Provider Payments ,
Reaffirmation ,
Retroactive Application ,
SCOTUS ,
Substantive Rule ,
Vacated
On April 10, 2019, the Department of Justice filed notices appealing two District Court rulings that struck down Medicaid work requirements in both Kentucky and Arkansas to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of...more
4/26/2019
/ 1115 Waivers ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
Appeals ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Governor Hutchinson ,
Health Insurance ,
Low-Income Issues ,
Medicaid ,
Medicaid Work Requirements ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Remand ,
Secretary of HHS ,
Statutory Authority ,
Take Care Clause ,
Vacated
In Advisory Opinion No. 18-11, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (the “OIG”) addressed a Medicaid managed care organization’s (“MCO”) proposal to pay its contracted providers and...more
10/29/2018
/ Advisory Opinions ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Beneficiaries ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Clinics ,
Hospitals ,
Incentives ,
Managed Care Contracts ,
MCOs ,
Medicaid ,
OIG ,
Safe Harbors