On March 3, 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) announced a new policy to reverse course on certain public notice and comment procedures. This marks a significant change to a process in place for...more
On July 10, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule (Proposed Rule) for the calendar year 2025. The Proposed Rule would implement certain provisions of the...more
Below is Alston & Bird’s Health Care Week in Review, which provides a synopsis of the latest news in health care regulations, notices, and guidance; federal legislation and congressional committee action; reports, studies,...more
Starting January 1, 2023, Medicare will cover telehealth-based treatment services delivered by federally-accredited opioid treatment programs (OTPs), commonly referred to as “methadone clinics.” This new reimbursement is...more
The OIG has indicated concern that patients suffering from opioid use disorder may experience difficulty accessing medication-assisted treatment (MAT), resulting in under-utilization of this intervention that offers what the...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Recent changes to the federal rules governing confidentiality of substance use disorder (SUD) patient records may require updates to agreements between group health plans and their third-party vendors....more
The OIG added six new items to its Work Plan in the July 2018 update. Areas addressed include HHS cybersecurity vulnerabilities, increased payments for transfer claims with outliers, oversight of funds for Access Increases in...more
Alston & Bird’s Week in Review provides a synopsis of the latest news in health care regulations, notices, and guidance; federal legislation and Congressional committee action; reports, studies, and analyses; and other health...more
On January 29, 2018, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a notice entitled, Medicare, Medicaid, and Children's Health Insurance Programs: Announcement of the Extension of Temporary Moratoria on...more
On January 3, 2018, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) issued a final rule to revise 42 CFR Part 2, the federal regulations governing confidentiality of certain substance abuse patients'...more
On January 18, 2017, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released its long-awaited final rule amending the confidentiality regulations at 42 CFR Part 2 (Part 2) that apply to federally...more
I. REGULATIONS, NOTICES, & GUIDANCE - On March 29, 2016, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule entitled, “Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Programs: Mental Health Parity and...more
Senate Working Group Pressing Forward on Telehealth - As Congress focuses on bigger picture policy decisions, including broad budget negotiations and raising the debt ceiling, there are some exciting developments on the...more