The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently issued new guidance (Guidance) on the use of remote communication technologies to deliver audio-only telehealth in accordance with...more
6/28/2022
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
HIPAA Security Rule ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Guidance ,
OCR ,
Patient Access ,
Relief Measures ,
Remote Proceedings ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine
On June 15, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of “340B” hospitals in a notable statutory interpretation case concerning how the federal Medicare program reimburses hospitals for prescription drugs. The...more
6/16/2022
/ American Hospital Association ,
American Hospital Association et al v Becerra Secretary Of Health And Human Services et al ,
Appeals ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Hospitals ,
Medical Reimbursement ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Act ,
Prescription Drugs ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 340B ,
Statutory Interpretation
On June 2, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission announced a pair of antitrust enforcement actions to block pending health system transactions that, according to it, would harm competition in the provision of inpatient general...more
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont recently signed into law Public Act No. 22-58, “An Act Concerning the Department of Public Health’s Recommendations Regarding Various Revisions to the Public Health Statutes” (the Act). The Act...more
Certain COVID-19 emergency declaration blanket waivers are being phased out by the federal government, and health care providers should take steps to determine whether current arrangements are compliant. As background, in...more
5/10/2022
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Elder Care ,
ESRD ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Hospice ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
New Guidance ,
Nursing Homes ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Waivers
The federal Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently published a report (OIG Report) as part of a series of analyses of the expansion and utilization of telehealth in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency. In...more
3/22/2022
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Medicare ,
OIG ,
Patient Access ,
Relief Measures ,
Rural Areas ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine
CYBERSECURITY -
CISA/FBI Advisory Warns of Destructive Malware Used Against Ukraine -
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the FBI issued a joint advisory this week alerting organizations of...more
3/4/2022
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
FBI ,
Hackers ,
Homeland Security Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) ,
Identity Theft ,
Information Blocking Rules ,
Malware ,
Passwords ,
Personal Data ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
T-Mobile ,
Ukraine ,
Vulnerability Assessments
Effective February 3, 2022, the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine (BoRM), which oversees physician licensure and the practice of medicine, updated its “Policy on Telemedicine in the Commonwealth” (Policy) to...more
On February 28, 2022, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) issued data on information blocking claims received since April 5, 2021, the effective date of information blocking...more
3/3/2022
/ 21st Century Cures Act ,
Electronic Medical Records ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Information Technologies ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
Information Blocking Rules ,
Information Technology ,
ONC ,
Regulatory Requirements
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently undertaken a number of notable actions with respect to vaccines in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic....more
In a per curiam decision issued January 13, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the federal health care worker vaccine mandate rule, finding that the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Centers for Medicare & Medicaid...more
1/14/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Lack of Authority ,
SCOTUS ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On December 2, 2021, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a memorandum to state survey agencies indicating that it will not enforce its Interim Final Rule (the “Rule”) regarding health care worker...more
12/14/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Essential Workers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On November 4, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued heavily anticipated emergency regulations requiring COVID-19 vaccination of eligible staff at health care facilities that participate in the...more
11/5/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Essential Workers ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On September 9, 2021 President Biden announced a COVID-19 Action Plan entitled “Path out of the Pandemic” (the “Plan”) which comprises a six-pronged national strategy aimed at combatting COVID-19. The Plan includes a number...more
9/14/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Essential Workers ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Health and Safety ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On August 19, 2021, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont issued Executive Order No. 13C (the “Order”) to expand access to COVID-19 vaccination information for patients and providers (and school nurses) as public health authorities...more
On June 7, 2021, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed into law Public Act 21-26 “An Act Concerning Various Revisions to the Public Health Statutes” (the “Act”). ...more
In June 2021, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a notable interpretation of the Physician Self-Referral Law (aka the Stark Law) in Advisory Opinion No. CMS-AO-2021-01 (Advisory Opinion) regarding...more
On July 6, 2021, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed into law Public Act 21-113 titled “An Act Concerning Opioids” (PA 21-113), which establishes pilot programs to help serve persons with opioid use disorder in urban,...more
7/28/2021
/ Controlled Substances ,
Drug & Alcohol Abuse ,
New Legislation ,
Opioid ,
Pain Management ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Public Safety ,
Regulatory Reform ,
State Pilot Programs ,
Substance Abuse
CYBERSECURITY -
White House Focused on Combating Ransomware -
Ransomware attacks are frequent and escalating as we speak. Double extortion scams are hitting companies at a dizzying pace, and catching companies, large...more
7/16/2021
/ Article III ,
Biden Administration ,
Canon ,
COPPA ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Drones ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Hackers ,
Ransomware ,
Smart Devices ,
Standing ,
Telemarketing ,
Text Messages
On June 23, 2021, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed into law Public Act 21-2 “An Act Concerning Provisions Related To Revenue And Other Items To Implement The State Budget For The Biennium Ending June 30, 2023” (PA...more
On June 16, and then on July 6, 2021, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed into law a pair of bills that together address privacy and cybersecurity in the state....more
On June 21, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) adopted its COVID19 Healthcare Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). Employers providing health care services will be required to comply with new...more
6/21/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Essential Workers ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Guidance ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Public Health ,
Workplace Safety
On March 14, 2021, Connecticut Governor Lamont issued Executive Order 10C (EO 10C), which extends provisions of Public Act 20-2 (PA 20-2), a law passed by the Connecticut legislature in July 2020 that “provided additional...more
3/22/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Executive Orders ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Information Technologies ,
Health Insurance ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Patient Access ,
State and Local Government ,
Telecommunications ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine
On January 28, 2021, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a Fifth Amendment to HHS’s Declaration under the Public Health Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act) that provides liability immunity...more
2/1/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Immunity ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Liability ,
Medical Malpractice ,
Patient Access ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act) ,
Vaccinations
CYBERSECURITY -
NYDFS -
Cybersecurity Certificate of Compliance Due April 15, 2021
The New York Department of Financial Services (DFS), which regulates certain covered entities and licensed persons in the financial...more
1/22/2021
/ Blockchain ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
CARES Act ,
Class Action ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Hackers ,
HIPAA Breach ,
Malware ,
Marriott ,
NYDFS ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Personal Data ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Russia ,
SolarWinds ,
Vaccinations