Articles and Blogs

NATIONAL 3 healthcare actions Biden plans to take in 1st 100 days ‘A very, very dark place’: Hospitals brace for crisis-care mode with too many patients, not enough staff Analysis predicts telehealth in 2021 will mitigate rising COVID-19-related costs Biden Picks Calif. AG Becerra to Lead HHS, Pandemic Response Cloud EHR vendor nTreatment reportedly... READ MORE

Since the onset of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (“SARS-CoV-2”) pandemic in early 2020, the federal government has been working diligently through Operation Warp Speed to expedite vaccine development for the prevention of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (“COVID-19”). Given the possibility that one or more COVID-19 vaccines may become available before the new... READ MORE

On December 1, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued a final rule (“Final Rule”) that imposes several modifications to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (“MPFS”) for Calendar Year (“CY”) 2021. Notably, the Final Rule will materially increase the Work Relative Value Units (“wRVUs”) that are allocated to several common evaluation... READ MORE

On November 20, 2020, the Health and Human Resources Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) issued the long-awaited final rule to overhaul various aspects of the Anti-Kickback Statute and Civil Monetary Penalties Laws (“Final Rule”). The Final Rule issued several new safe harbors and modified existing safe harbors under the Anti-Kickback Statute. As we noted... READ MORE

On December 3, 2020, HHS issued a Fourth Amendment to the Declaration under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (“PREP Act”), which, in part, expands access to certain telehealth services during the COVID-19 public health emergency (“PHE”).  Most notably, this amendment preempts state professional licensure laws with respect to “Covered Countermeasures” that are provided through telehealth... READ MORE

As we previously discussed here (“EEOC Provides COVID-19 Guidance Via Webinar (Part I of II)”), here (“EEOC Provides COVID-19 Guidance Via Webinar (Part II)”) and here (“EEOC Updates COVID-19 Technical Assistance”), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has previously addressed several employment practice concerns throughout the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier this fall, the EEOC released... READ MORE

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) published an Interim Final Rule on November 27, 2020 that creates a new drug reimbursement model tying Medicare Part B drug reimbursement for certain drugs to price limits in place in other countries (“Most Favored Nation Model” or “MFN Model”). Scheduled to begin January 1, 2021,... READ MORE

On November 20, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released a much anticipated final rule (“Final Rule”) aimed at modernizing and streamlining key regulations under the federal Stark Law. As anticipated, the Final Rule included some major changes to the Stark regulations that will drive physician contracting, compensation models and compliance... READ MORE

NATIONAL 9 recent big tech partnerships in healthcare: Amazon, Google, Microsoft AMA: Drug shortages urgent public health crisis Biden closes in on pick for HHS secretary CMS finalizes physician-owned hospital boost, end of inpatient-only list CMS Finalizes 2021 Physician Fee Schedule, Including E/M Changes CDC may shorten 14-day COVID-19 quarantine recommendation CDC trims COVID-19... READ MORE

On November 12, 2020, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), Department of Labor and Department of the Treasury jointly published a final rule requiring health care payors to publicly disclose certain price and cost-sharing information (the “Final Rule”). The Final Rule, which HHS refers to as the “Transparency in Coverage”... READ MORE