On December 10, 2020, the HHS Office of Civil Rights (OCR) announced proposed modifications to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule. Among other changes, the proposed rule would...more
Last week, CMS announced that hospitals can now track the use of remdesivir and convalescent plasma for treating COVID-19 patients. In a press release issued on July 30, 2020, CMS emphasized the importance of tracking these...more
On July 17, 2020, HHS announced it will begin distributing $10 billion through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to hospitals in “high impact” COVID-19 areas. HHS states that it will begin distributing...more
On June 1, CMS issued guidance to states on new requirements for nursing homes in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since March 6, 2020, CMS has relied on State Survey Agencies to perform Focused Infection Control surveys of...more
On May 11, 2020, CMS issued its annual Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Prospective Payment System Proposed Rule for FY 2021 (the Proposed Rule), which will affect...more
On April 2, 2020, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) issued a notification stating that it will not impose penalties for violations of certain provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)...more
On March 9, 2020, CMS released its final rule creating certain interoperability and patient access standards (CMS Final Rule). On the same day, the ONC released a rule that addressed interoperability as well (ONC Final...more
In an August 30, 2019 press release, CMS announced the launch of a new tool, which CMS has titled the “Market Saturation and Utilization Data Tool.” The tool is available here through the CMS website. CMS’s stated purpose for...more
9/4/2019
/ CBSA ,
Census Bureau ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Clinical Laboratories ,
Fraud Abuse and Waste ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Home Health Care ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
Mental Hospitals ,
Skilled Nursing Facility ,
Statistical Analysis ,
Telemedicine
On July 29, 2019, CMS released the Calendar Year (CY) 2020 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) proposed rule (the Proposed Rule). The Proposed Rule updates payment policies, payment rates, and quality provisions for services...more
8/8/2019
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Comment Period ,
Health Care Providers ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Shared Savings Program ,
Mental Health ,
Open Payments ,
Physician Fee Schedule ,
Physicians ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Stark Law ,
Telehealth
On July 11, 2019, CMS released a proposed rule that would rescind certain state reporting requirements relating to Medicaid (the Proposed Rule) that potentially could make it easier for states to reduce Medicaid benefits and...more
CMS published a final rule today in the Federal Register updating the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). The updated rule makes several changes intended to expand the flexibilities of the interdisciplinary...more
On May 7, 2019, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) delivered new guidance on how potential False Claims Act (FCA) defendants can receive leniency in exchange for proactively disclosing misconduct and taking other...more
5/16/2019
/ Cooperation ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
New Guidance ,
Qui Tam ,
Relators ,
Remedial Actions ,
Voluntary Disclosure
On February 27, 2019, the Department of Justice announced that Vanguard Healthcare, LLC and related Vanguard companies agreed to pay more than $18 million to resolve claims made by the United States and the State of Tennessee...more
On August 2, 2018, CMS released the final rule for the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and the Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Prospective Payment System (PPS) (Final Rule). (A summary of the proposed rule issued...more