On February 9, 2018 after a brief shutdown, Congress passed and President Trump signed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, a two-year budget agreement that includes funding for the operation of the federal government until...more
As digital health innovation continues to move at light speed, both new and incumbent stakeholders find themselves on a new frontier—one that challenges traditional health care delivery and payment frameworks, in addition to...more
Introduction -
Throughout 2017, the health care and life science industries experienced a widespread proliferation of digital health innovation that presents challenges to traditional notions of health care delivery and...more
1/10/2018
/ 21st Century Cures Act ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Biometric Information ,
Consumer Protection Act ,
Cyber Threats ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Digital Health ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Information Technologies ,
Health Insurance ,
Life Sciences ,
OIG ,
Privacy Policy ,
Research and Development ,
TCPA ,
Telehealth
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reiterated its commitments to expanding access to telehealth services and paying “appropriately” for services that maximize technology in the Medicare Program; Revisions to...more
The Senate’s unanimous passage of the Creating High-Quality Results and Outcomes Necessary to Improve Chronic (CHRONIC) Care Act of 2017 (S.870) on September 26th is an encouraging step forward for modernizing telehealth...more
On May 3, 2017, the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies for Health Act of 2017 (S. 1016) (CONNECT Act of 2017) was reintroduced by the same six senators who had initially introduced the...more
As one of the last states to retain highly restrictive (and arguably anti-competitive) telemedicine practice standards, health care providers, regulatory boards, technology companies, payors and other stakeholders have been...more
Late last month, Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) introduced Senate Bill 787, the Telehealth Innovation and Improvement Act (Telehealth Improvement Act), which is focused on expanding Medicare’s...more
Utah is one of the many states that started off 2017 with proposals to change its existing telehealth laws and regulations. Proposed Utah HB 154 (the Proposed Bill), endorsed by Ken Ivory and Allen Christensen, amends the...more
Texas telehealth requirements will significantly change in the near future if Texas Senate Bill 1107 is passed into law, which removes the controversial “face-to-face” or in-person consultation requirement to establish a...more
On December 7, 2016, the US Congress enacted the 21st Century Cures Act, substantial legislation intended to accelerate “discovery, development and delivery” of medical therapies by encouraging biomedical research investment,...more
1/21/2017
/ 21st Century Cures Act ,
Ambulatory Surgery Centers ,
Digital Health ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Information Technologies ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Hospitals ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
Manufacturers ,
Medical Devices ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Advantage ,
MedPAC ,
Mental Health ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
National Institute of Health (NIH) ,
Off-Campus Departments ,
Opioid ,
Patients ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Research and Development ,
Small Business ,
Substance Abuse ,
Telehealth ,
Transparency
On December 14, 2016, President Obama signed the Expanding Capacity for Health Outcomes Act (S. 2873) (the ECHO Act). The ECHO Act seeks to expand the use of health care technology and programming to connect underserved...more
President Obama signed the 21st Century Cures Act on December 13, 2016. The act encourages biomedical research investment and facilitates innovation review and approval processes, but also serves as a vehicle for a wide...more
On December 6, 2016, the House passed the Expanding Capacity for Health Outcomes Act (S. 2873) (the ECHO Act), which was unanimously passed by the Senate on November 29, 2016. The ECHO Act seeks to expand the use of health...more
Collaborative efforts between congressional offices and various health care stakeholders, as well as the feedback provided in response to the Bipartisan CHRONIC Care Working Group Policy Options Document released in December...more
In hopes of expanding reimbursement opportunities for telemedicine services in the Medicare program, representatives of eleven payers, including Aetna, Anthem, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee, Cambia Health Solutions and...more
On August 3, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) staff submitted public comments regarding the Delaware Board of Occupational Therapy Practice’s proposed regulation for the provision of occupational therapy services via...more
The integration of technology into health care delivery is exploding throughout the health industry landscape. Commentators speculating on the implications of the information revolution’s penetration of the health care...more
The integration of technology into health care delivery is exploding throughout the health industry landscape. Commentators speculating on the implications of the information revolution’s penetration of the health care...more
7/12/2016
/ ACOs ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Big Data ,
Business Model ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Fee-for-Service ,
Health Information Technologies ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization (MACRA) ,
Mobile Medical Applications ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine ,
Value-Based Payments
New Ethical Guidelines -
On June 13, the American Medical Association (AMA) adopted a new ethical guidance policy governing the practice of telemedicine that will be published in the coming months. The policy is based on...more
In March 2016, the US Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) staff submitted public comments regarding the telehealth provisions of a proposed state bill in Alaska demonstrating the FTC’s continued focus on health care competition...more
Earlier this month, a bipartisan group, led by U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), introduced a bill in the Senate focused on promoting cost savings and quality care under the Medicare program through the use of telehealth...more
As we reflect upon how the health care industry has changed in 2015 and what we expect to see in 2016, there is one area that stands out as having great promise for continued growth—telehealth....more
As we enter into the new year, the health industry continues to see expanded access to telehealth services. After a whirlwind 2015 in which we saw over 200 telehealth-related bills introduced in 42 states, New York and...more
On December 18, 2015, the United States Senate Committee on Finance (the Committee) released a Bipartisan Chronic Care Working Group Policy Options Document), which outlines approaches under consideration to improve the care...more