Articles and Blogs

On September 28, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced changes to its merger review process designed to increase the rigor of the review and “streamline” (in the FTC’s words) the interactions between the merging parties and the FTC. The announced changes will expand the potential topics covered during investigations, while also standardizing the... READ MORE

NATIONAL 18% of healthcare workers have quit jobs during pandemic: Morning Consult 90% of clinicians say patients would be offended to see what’s in their medical records ‘A total miscue’: Leaders react to the No Surprises Act CMS ‘getting pretty close’ to releasing details of COVID-19 vaccination mandate CMS unveils another surprise-billing rule: 12... READ MORE

NATIONAL 7 CMS updates to know A top F.D.A. official moved on Monday to take over the agency’s vaccines office. AHA to CMS: Ensure COVID-19 vaccine mandate is ‘feasible,’ ‘fair’ CDC director recommends boosters for healthcare workers, despite panel’s vote CMS reevaluating hospital outpatient pay rate cut exemptions CMS reviewing mid-build exception denials CMS’... READ MORE

On September 14, 2021, HHS issued a ninth amendment (the “Ninth Amendment”) to the Declaration for medical countermeasures against COVID-19 (the “Declaration”) under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (“PREP Act”). This Amendment expands the scope of authority for licensed pharmacists along with qualified pharmacy technicians and interns relative to FDA-approved COVID-19 therapeutics.... READ MORE

Effective September 1, 2021, employers in Texas are subject to two significant amendments to the state employment law: SB 45 and HB 21 to the Texas Labor Code expand sexual harassment protections for employees in essentially all workplaces. More Employers Can Now Expect to Receive Legal Challenges Previously, only employers with 15 or more... READ MORE

On September 9, 2021, President Biden announced sweeping requirements for COVID-19 vaccination that will require larger employers to mandate employees be vaccinated or undergo weekly testing. Employees in certain health care settings will also be required to receive the COVID-19 vaccination. These requirements were addressed in President Biden’s new COVID-19 Action Plan, Path Out... READ MORE

On August 20, 2021, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Treasury (collectively, the “Departments”) announced through a set of frequently asked questions (“FAQs”) that the Departments will defer enforcement of certain provisions of the No Surprises Act (the “Act”). This comes as welcomed news for health plans and providers alike... READ MORE

In recent years, several actions by legislatures and courts across multiple states have challenged the tax-exempt status of nonprofit hospital property. Actions have ranged from proposed legislation in Indiana to eliminate the property tax exemption for nonprofit hospitals to a New Jersey Tax Court that ruled a hospital was not entitled to a property... READ MORE

NATIONAL 9 procedures CMS plans to keep on office-based payable list AMA releases 405 CPT code changes for 2022: 5 things to know Amazon eyes expansion of in-person healthcare to 20 more cities Biden to announce new vaccine mandates that could cover 100 million Americans Federal health officials urge White House to push back... READ MORE

Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (“Section 1557”) prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability by any health program or activity that receives federal financial assistance. In 2016, HHS promulgated a Final Rule (“2016 Rule”) that interpreted discrimination on the “basis of sex” to include discrimination... READ MORE