On April 30, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published an interim final rule (IFR) that made regulatory changes and clarified certain policies in response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) public health...more
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued blanket waivers under Section 1135 of the Social Security Act (Section 1135 waivers) on April 30, 2020. Fast on the heels of a more modest waiver announcement on...more
5/7/2020
/ 1135 Waivers ,
CARES Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Hospice ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
OCR ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Relief Measures ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine
After receiving approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on April 23, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a survey on April 24, 2020, to collect information on 340B hospitals’...more
On April 21, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued Quality, Safety & Oversight memorandum QSO-20-27-Hospital (QSO Memo), addressed to state survey agencies to provide guidance to independent...more
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released a fact sheet detailing flexibilities for Rural Health Clinics and Federally Qualified Health Centers during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. During the national...more
On April 3, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued Quality, Safety & Oversight memorandum QSO-20-24-ASC (the QSO Memo), addressed to state survey agencies to provide guidance on processing attestation...more
The updated waivers build upon the more limited set of Section 1135 waivers issued on March 13, 2020, and address common concerns among Medicare providers and suppliers as they deal with the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic....more
4/1/2020
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Emergency Response ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Medicare ,
OCR ,
Physicians ,
Public Health ,
Relief Measures ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine ,
Waivers
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is expediting Medicare enrollment applications and allowing certain categories of practitioners to temporarily enroll in Medicare Part B to increase the number of healthcare...more
On March 13, 2020, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency under the National Emergencies Act and made an emergency determination under the Stafford Act. This announcement follows the January 31, 2020,...more
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released several fact sheets on COVID-19 coverage and benefits, and announced a second Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) code, U0002, for billing COVID-19...more
3/11/2020
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Diagnostic Tests ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Administrative Contractors (MAC) ,
Medicare Part A ,
Medicare Part B ,
Medicare Part D ,
Physicians ,
Provider Payments
On February 7, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service (CMS) published a notice signaling that it has submitted its previously published September 2019 proposed survey of hospital 340B drug costs for Office of...more
Hospitals and health systems are facing consumer demand for innovation, the need to expand and enhance streams of revenue and the push for improved quality, all while navigating changing regulations, federal enforcement,...more
2/6/2020
/ Antitrust Litigation ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
CMIA ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Hospitals ,
Medicare ,
No-Poaching ,
OCR ,
Popular ,
Ransomware
On January 27, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report concluding that the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has provided limited oversight of the 340B and Medicaid Drug Rebate Programs,...more
2/5/2020
/ Audits ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Covered Entities ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Fee-for-Service ,
GAO ,
HRSA ,
Managed Care Contracts ,
Medicaid ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Popular ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Section 340B
Less than two weeks into the new year, the federal government has released two new publications addressing concerns related to 340B Program oversight by both state and federal agencies. After a relatively quiet 2019, 340B...more
1/14/2020
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Covered Entities ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Fee-for-Service ,
GAO ,
Hospitals ,
HRSA ,
Medicaid ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Section 340B
A few days before Thanksgiving, the news media published an internal memo by the Office of General Counsel (OGC) at the US Department of Health and Human Services (Department) to officials at the Centers for Medicare and...more
12/6/2019
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Azar v Allina Health Services ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Local Coverage Determination (LCD) ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part C ,
New Guidance ,
Notice and Comment ,
OGC ,
Overpayment ,
Provider Payments ,
Rulemaking Process ,
SCOTUS ,
Social Security Act
On November 15, the Trump Administration released a final rule requiring hospitals to publicly disclose hospital charges, including negotiated prices with third-party payers by January 1, 2021. We outline key considerations...more
On September 10, 2019, the US Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a final rule (Final Rule) expanding Medicare, Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program...more
10/1/2019
/ Affiliates ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
Comment Period ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Document Retention Policies ,
Enrollment ,
Final Rules ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Opt-Outs ,
Physicians ,
Public Comment ,
Reporting Requirements
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has released proposed updates to payment rates and regulations applicable to the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System for Calendar Year 2020, including proposals...more
President Trump has issued an Executive Order instructing several federal agencies to begin rulemaking processes intended to increase the transparency of hospital pricing. Among other measures, the Executive Order directs the...more
6/28/2019
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Affordable Care Act ,
American Hospital Association ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Healthcare Costs ,
New Legislation ,
Price Transparency ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Secretary of HHS ,
Trump Administration
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has issued long-awaited draft guidance addressing the use of shared space and contracted services. Though aiming to increase transparency into the scope and interpretation of its...more
The US District Court for the District of Columbia recently held that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) exceeded its authority by reducing Medicare payment rates for 340B drugs, but, because of the...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its 2019 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System Final rule, which, among other things, expands “site-neutral” payments to additional hospital outpatient...more
On October 31, 2018, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) at the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to move up the effective date of a final rule that...more
On October 25, 2018, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking with Comment (ANPRM) proposing to implement an international pricing index (IPI) model for Medicare...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has historically prohibited “new” teaching hospitals from sharing graduate medical education (GME) full time equivalent (FTE) slots with another hospital under a GME...more