New York Governor Vetoes Act Prohibiting Establishment and Expansion of For-Profit Hospices -
On December 23, 2022, New York Governor Kathy Hochul vetoed Assembly Bill Number A8472 “An Act To Amend The Public Health Law,...more
1/6/2023
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Elder Care ,
For-Profit Corporations ,
Governor Vetoes ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Hospice ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part B ,
New York
HHS Publishes Significant Updates to Anti-Kickback Statute Safe-Harbors and Beneficiary Inducement CMP Regulations -
On November 30 and December 2, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector...more
The Robinson+Cole Health Law Group is committed to examining and reporting on issues important to the health care and life sciences industries. Below are excerpts from our Health Law Diagnosis blog, where we post on fraud and...more
On November 20, 2020, the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) released heavily anticipated final rules revising the regulatory exceptions to the Physician Self-Referral Law (also known as the Stark Law), the...more
On October 14, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) expanded the list of telehealth services covered by Medicare during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. CMS also announced it would be providing...more
10/20/2020
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Medicaid ,
Medical Reimbursement ,
Medicare ,
Patient Access ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine
On July 6, 2020 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed its calendar year 2021 End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Prospective Payment System (PPS) rule. ESRD PPS rules are promulgated on an annual basis...more
On June 9, 2020 the Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced it had reached an Early Case Resolution (ECR) with the State of Connecticut and a separate ECR with Hartford Hospital. Both ECRs involve...more
On May 11, 2020 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced additional blanket waivers for hospitals and other facilities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to CMS, the new waivers “provide the...more
On May 8, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published an interim final rule with comment period (the “Interim Rule”) in the Federal Register, setting forth additional regulatory waivers and other...more
On April 30, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an interim final rule with comment period (April 30 Interim Rule), building on previous regulatory waivers and other revisions to regulations issued...more
On April 19, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued recommendations for Re-opening Facilities to Provide Non-emergent Non-COVID-19 Healthcare: Phase I. ...more
On April 17, 2020, Massachusetts bill S. 2640 was signed into law by Governor Charlie Baker. The law provides certain liability protections for the acts or omissions of defined health care professionals, health care...more
On April 9, 2020 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) updated blanket waivers issued previously in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency. According to CMS, the new waivers “focus on reducing...more
Massachusetts continues to issue additional directives and guidance for the health care provider community in response to COVID-19. In this post we highlight new orders by Massachusetts Governor Baker, the Massachusetts...more
In this article, we highlight additional updates issued by state and federal government authorities for the health care community in Massachusetts related to COVID-19....more
3/31/2020
/ 1135 Waivers ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Determination of Need (DoN) ,
Fee-for-Service ,
Health Care Providers ,
Medicaid ,
Nurses ,
Pharmacies ,
Prior Authorization ,
Relief Measures
On March 25, 2020, the Office of Inspector General, Health and Human Services (OIG) issued two frequently asked questions (FAQs), clarifying its March 17th Policy Statement Regarding Physicians and Other Practitioners That...more
On March 20, the Connecticut Office of Health Strategy (OHS) issued new guidance (Guidance) on the process for requesting a certificate of need (CON) waiver for projects related to the COVID-19 response. See our analysis of...more
Massachusetts regulators issued several updates regarding Hospital Bed License Expansion, Personal Protective Equipment, and Ambulance Transport to Designated Alternate Sites that receive suspected COVID-19 patients....more
On March 17 the Trump Administration announced expanded reimbursement for clinicians providing telehealth services for Medicare beneficiaries during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid...more
3/19/2020
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Health Care Providers ,
Medicaid ,
Medical Reimbursement ,
Medicare ,
OIG ,
Public Health ,
Relief Measures ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine ,
Trump Administration
On March 16, Connecticut agencies released two important guidance documents for state health care providers and organizations confronting the COVID-19 pandemic...more
3/18/2020
/ Certificate of Need ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deregulation ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Hospitals ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Public Health ,
Relief Measures ,
Reviewability Determinations ,
State and Local Government
The HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued an Important Notice Regarding Individuals’ Right of Access to Health Records through its email list serve on January 29, 2020. In the Notice, OCR addressed the recent memorandum...more
On November 26, 2019, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a $26.67 million settlement with a laboratory testing corporation, Boston Heart Diagnostics Corporation (Boston Heart). The settlement resolves allegations of...more
12/9/2019
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Billing ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Billing ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Kickbacks ,
Remuneration ,
Self-Referral ,
Settlement ,
Whistleblowers
On October 9, 2019, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released its long-awaited proposals (the Proposed Rules) to update regulatory exceptions to the federal Physician Self-Referral Law (the Stark Law), the...more
The Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) has revised its U.S. Code of Ethics for Interactions with Health Care Professionals, with updates that take effect January 1, 2020. Until then, the current AdvaMed Code...more
On July 18, 2019, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a Final Rule establishing requirements for arbitration agreements between long-term care (LTC) facilities and their residents. The Final Rule...more