The President’s national emergency declaration on March 13, 2020, issued in response to COVID-19, enabled the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to grant state Medicaid agencies added flexibility through a...more
Parties to a health care transaction must be prepared for and informed on a number of aspects unique to the health care industry. This is certainly true for proposed changes of ownership or control, where a buyer plans to...more
The Georgia House of Representatives, Health and Human Services Committee, chaired by Representative Sharon Cooper, unanimously approved House Bill 987 on February 25, 2020 (“HB 987” or the “Bill”), proposing a number of new...more
In November 2019, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposed the Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Regulation (MFAR), a set of regulations targeted at promoting financial integrity in state Medicaid programs. ...more
On January 3, 2020, a Pennsylvania Court ordered the Pennsylvania Department of Health (“DOH”) to provide certain records regarding change of ownerships of thirty-five Pennsylvania long-term care facilities (the “Providers”)...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) final rule addressing program integrity and vulnerability issues, which was issued on September 5, 2019, went into effect on November 4, 2019. ...more
Certificates of need (CONs) are a creature of state law, which means no two states take exactly the same approach to the review, issuance, or maintenance of certificates of need (that is, if the state has a CON program at...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule on September 5, 2019, intended to address program integrity and vulnerability issues....more
In a recently released report titled “Help Wanted: Who will Care for Mom & Dad?”, the Pennsylvania Auditor General, Eugene DePasquale, lists a number of observations of and recommendations for varying facets of the...more
On May 19, 2019, the Minnesota Senate passed legislation aimed to provide additional protections for elderly and vulnerable residents in Minnesota. The legislation included two levels of licensure for assisted living to...more
The Georgia House and Senate have passed House Bill 374, which would authorize certified medication aides to administer liquid morphine to assisted living community residents under hospice care pursuant to a physician’s...more
Changes may be coming to Georgia’s new (and not yet implemented) long-term care background check law. If passed, the new Georgia House Bill 91 would authorize the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Federal Bureau of...more
In a 119-page report titled “Reforming America’s Healthcare System through Choice and Competition,” issued on December 3, 2018, Secretaries Alex Azar (Health and Human Services), Steve Mnuchin (Treasury), and Alexander Acosta...more
After several years of discussion between Personal Care Home (PCH) and Assisted Living Community (ALC) operators and the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH), DCH issued final regulations this summer that address the...more
Under existing California law, skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) have multiple ongoing reporting duties. For example, SNFs must disclose to the California Department of Public Health the names and addresses of any person or...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a fact sheet related to proposed regulations addressing conditions of participation (CoPs) and conditions for coverage (CfCs). ...more
On August 17, 2018, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a Memorandum to state survey agency directors regarding Medicare-approved End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) facilities that provide dialysis...more
The American Hospital Association has announced a new pilot program that would implement an “age-friendly health system” involving partnerships with hospitals, ambulatory care providers, long-term care providers, and...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it is seeking input on direct provider contracting (DPC) between “payers and primary care or multi-specialty groups to inform potential testing of a DPC model”...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule on April 27, 2018 to overhaul the payment system for skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). Specifically, the rule would “update the payment rates used...more
An increasing number of Medicare providers have found themselves in financial distress and are contemplating bankruptcy filings. While provider bankruptcies include a host of issues outside the government reimbursement...more
A Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) call letter (the “Call Letter”) released on April 2, 2018, could mean a dramatic and positive shift in CMS policy related to Medicare Advantage (MA) plans and senior living and...more
Nursing facilities undergoing changes of ownership (CHOW) in Vermont could see new requirements starting in 2019 if a recent bill is passed. The state, which currently can take as long as one year (or more in some cases) to...more
Proposed legislation in Minnesota would dramatically reshape the state’s licensing requirements for assisted living (“AL”) and memory care (“MC”) communities. Minnesota’s current AL licensing requirements are unique in the...more
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released a report entitled “Medicaid Assisted Living Services: Improved Oversight of Beneficiary Health and Welfare is Needed.” The report, released on February 5, 2018,...more