After three years, the federal public health emergency (PHE) will expire May 11, 2023. Most of the relaxed regulatory and payor standards will end on or within a few months after the deadline, including many relating to: ...more
3/21/2023
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
DEA ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
EMTALA ,
Expiration Date ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act) ,
Ryan Haight Act ,
Stark Law ,
Telehealth ,
Virus Testing
For nearly three years, federal and state agencies have waived or relaxed regulatory requirements and expanded reimbursement for services due to the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), but the signs indicate that the...more
11/29/2022
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Compliance ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
FQHC ,
Medicare ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reimbursements ,
Telehealth
On January 13, 2022, a divided Supreme Court vacated the injunctions that applied to CMS's vaccine mandate in 24 states, thereby allowing CMS to enforce its mandates in all states except Texas....more
1/19/2022
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Enforcement ,
Exemptions ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
OSHA ,
SCOTUS ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
In the latest twist in the OSHA Vax-or-Test saga, the Sixth Circuit terminated the nationwide injunction of the Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), clearing the way for OSHA to begin enforcing the Vax-or-Test ETS. OSHA...more
Today, the federal district court in Louisiana issued a preliminary injunction staying the CMS vaccine mandate nationwide (except for the 10 states subject to yesterday’s injunction in Missouri). A copy of the Order is here. ...more
On November 29, 2021, a federal district court in Missouri entered a preliminary injunction prohibiting CMS from enforcing its COVID-19 vaccine mandate in Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire,...more
In light of the CMS Interim Final Rule (“Interim Rule”) published on November 5, 2021, qualifying healthcare facilities have been tasked with implementing policies and procedures that ensure their staff are fully vaccinated...more
11/18/2021
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
Popular ,
Religious Exemption ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)’s new vaccine mandate for healthcare workers, facilities must draft and implement policies and procedures by December 6, 2021 to ensure covered personnel are fully...more
11/8/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EEO ,
Enforcement ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
OSHA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Exemption ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Given the COVID-19 vaccine mandates, employers—including healthcare entities—will need to confirm their employees’ vaccination status. Employers and healthcare providers must ensure they comply with privacy rules relating to...more
9/24/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
OCR ,
PHI ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
On September 9, 2021, President Biden announced that the federal vaccine mandate for nursing facilities will be extended to most other healthcare workers. Unfortunately, the announcement raised more questions than it...more
9/16/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Healthcare Workers ,
OSHA ,
Privately Held Corporations ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
Telehealth expanded dramatically in response to the COVID pandemic. Now that providers, patients, payers and public officials have seen the benefits, it is almost certain that telehealth will continue to play an increasingly...more
9/1/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Health Care Providers ,
Informed Consent ,
Medical Records ,
Physician Assistants ,
Physicians ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Standard of Care ,
Telehealth ,
Verification Requirements ,
Waivers
Healthcare providers focusing on COVID-19 may have missed the final Interoperability and Information Blocking Rule that was published May 1, 2020 and takes effect November 3, 2020. (45 C.F.R. Part 171). The Rule implements...more
8/27/2020
/ 21st Century Cures Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Final Rules ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Privacy Rule ,
HIPAA Violations ,
Information Blocking Rules ,
OIG
Healthcare providers who received or receive payments from the CARES Act Provider Relief Fund (“PRF”) may only use the payment for permissible purposes, must document and report the proper use, and return any excess funds to...more
This week, rural providers began receiving the next round of Provider Relief Funds as authorized by the CARES Act. Recipients include rural acute care general hospitals, critical access hospitals (“CAHs”), rural health...more
5/7/2020
/ CAH ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Advantage ,
Medicare Part D ,
Operating Costs ,
Provider Relief Fund ,
Virus Testing
HHS has updated the Terms and Conditions and websites for two key portions of its Provider Relief Fund programs.
1. Provider Relief Funds. Over the weekend, HHS updated the Terms and Conditions and posted FAQs concerning...more
On April 22, 2020, HHS announced specifics concerning the next round of the $100 billion Provider Relief Fund payments, some of which should reach provider bank accounts today....more
Beginning April 10, 2020, HHS began issuing payments to providers eligible to receive a portion of the $30 billion reserved for the Provider Relief Fund. There have been two important developments this week...more
The CARES Act adopts several measures to help stabilize the healthcare system, address health care issues directly and indirectly related to the current pandemic and ensure future preparedness. It also allocates $100 billion...more
Healthcare providers struggle to know if and when they may disclose a patient's COVID-19 status to an employer. The analysis differs somewhat depending on whether the healthcare provider is acting solely in its capacity as a...more
4/7/2020
/ Business Interruption ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Lenders ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Payroll Taxes ,
SBA ,
SBA Lending Programs ,
Tax Relief ,
Unemployment Insurance
The CARES Act adopts several measures to help stabilize the healthcare system, address health care issues directly and indirectly related to the current pandemic and ensure future preparedness. It also allocates $100 billion...more
On March 30, 2020, CMS opened the way for hospitals to provide additional compensation and/or support to referring physicians during the COVID-19 pandemic by waiving the enforcement penalties under the federal Ethics in...more
On March 30, 2020, CMS issued numerous additional blanket waivers to give providers greater flexibility in responding to COVID-19. (See https://www.cms.gov/files/document/summary-covid-19-emergency-declaration-waivers.pdf)....more
4/1/2020
/ 1135 Waivers ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Determination of Need (DoN) ,
EMTALA ,
Fee-for-Service ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
Medicaid ,
Nurses ,
Nursing Homes ,
Pharmacies ,
Prior Authorization ,
Relief Measures ,
Skilled Nursing Facility ,
State and Local Government ,
Waivers
Federal Action. To promote the use of telehealth in response to Coronavirus, the federal government took several significant steps this week:
- Medicare dramatically expanded the telehealth services for which it will pay.
...more