Articles and Blogs

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) published numerous updates to its rules for graduate medical education in 2020, many of which take effect in the early part of 2021. This client alert is part one of our three-part series giving insight into these CMS changes and more recent statutory changes. Moonlighting Rule... READ MORE

NATIONAL 10 cities with biggest annual physician pay growth 20 healthcare moves from Amazon, Google, Microsoft & Apple in 2020 AHA to feds: Give COVID-stressed hospitals a break on price transparency compliance Biden plans stimulus relief worth trillions: 5 things to know Biden to release all COVID-19 vaccine doses instead of stockpiling 2nd round... READ MORE

Over the last year, health care providers (“Recipients”) have received billions of dollars in relief fund payments from the Provider Relief Fund (“Relief Fund”) created by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) signed into law in March. Recipients of Relief Fund payments are required to comply with certain auditing and... READ MORE

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) recently adopted its Final Rule (the “Final Rule”) modifications to the Stark Law aimed at modernizing and clarifying various regulations. Two such changes are universally relevant, but particularly so for those who practice in the health care real estate realm. For an overview of all changes... READ MORE

Increasing numbers of hospitals and health systems are addressing social determinants of health in order to advance the health status of their communities. Among these efforts, the development of affordable housing is regarded as a key to improving the physical and mental health of a community’s low-income population. Consequently, many hospitals and health systems,... READ MORE

On November 20, 2020, the Office of the Inspector General (“OIG”) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued final rules (the “Final Rules”) revising and expanding exceptions and safe harbors under the federal Stark Law (“Stark”) and Anti-Kickback Statute (“AKS”) as part of the Department of Health and Human Services’ “Regulatory Sprint... READ MORE

On December 23, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (the “OIG”) issued Advisory Opinion No. 20-08 (the “Advisory Opinion”) addressing the use of gift cards to incentivize patients to utilize health care services. While gift cards themselves are not a new topic for the OIG in the area... READ MORE

NATIONAL 46 hospitals sue HHS over bad debt policy 15 largest gifts to healthcare organizations in 2020 115 hospitals sue HHS over Medicare payment calculation 3 reasons Haven failed: A former healthcare CEO’s take AMA’s president and president-elect discuss AMA’s goals for 2021 CMS details 5 new scenarios that trigger infection control-focused surveys COVID-19... READ MORE

Effective on October 19, 2020, the Accreditation Commission for Health Care (“ACHC”) and the Accreditation Association for Hospitals/Health Systems (“AAHHS”) merged to form a single company in order to streamline accreditation and certification services for health care providers with various survey needs. AAHHS is the parent company of the Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program (“HFAP”),... READ MORE

NATIONAL 340B discounts apply to contract pharmacies, HHS clarifies Amazon moves deeper into healthcare in 2020: 12 things to know Amid vaccine rollout, these are the top picks of the best healthcare analysts on Wall Street American Hospital Association VP Joy Lewis to lead its health equity, inclusion strategies Bill targets healthcare industry PPE... READ MORE