Articles and Blogs

On November 28, 2017, the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) rescinded Advisory Opinion 06-04, which had been issued in 2006 to Caring Voice Coalition (“Requestor”), a nonprofit, tax-exempt, charitable organization. Requestor operated a patient assistance program (“PAP”) that provided financially needy Medicare beneficiaries with Medicare premium and cost-sharing... READ MORE

Since the Senate approved the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act last Saturday, December 2, the tax reform process has turned to the appointment of a conference committee. This committee must reconcile the Senate version of the bill (“Senate Bill”) and the version that the House of Representatives passed in November (“House Bill”), with the goal of... READ MORE

NATIONAL For CMS Head, Improving Interoperability is Personal CVS agrees to buy Aetna in $69 billion deal that could shake up health-care industry Teladoc sees more than 100% growth in health systems, hospitals CMS takes aim at regulatory reforms to ease provider burden Amazon cancels pharma license application in Maine, raising more questions about... READ MORE

NATIONAL House Reps Aim to Stop $1.6B Hospital Payment Cut for 340B Drugs House asks HHS for plan on including bill of materials for medical devices Counting the costs: U.S. hospitals feeling the pain of physician burnout CAHs speak out against cuts to swing beds in Medicare extenders bill 13 health systems leading employment... READ MORE

On November 1, 2017, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released its Calendar Year 2018 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (“OPPS”) final rule. Among many other changes, CMS finalized its proposal to remove total knee arthroplasty (“TKA”) from the CMS inpatient-only (“IPO”) list. Effective January 1, 2018, CMS will no longer require... READ MORE

NATIONAL How are states faring with value-based payment initiatives? AMA launches efforts to help physicians harness health data VA moves to digitize health records with $158M contract Amazon to regulators: We won’t use state licenses to sell prescription drugs MACRA: The Yardstick for Quality that Health Systems Need AMGA: 10 median salaries by medical... READ MORE

The opioid crisis has been declared a national emergency. This crisis presents a variety of legal issues and questions, including the extent to which health care providers can disclose a patient’s protected health information (“PHI”) under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”). When a patient is incapacitated due to an... READ MORE

NATIONAL Surviving in limbo: 3 takeaways from physician execs on the transition to value-based care Bipartisan bill looks to change physician anti-kickback law CMS holds value-based purchasing adjustment steady for 2018 Healthcare reacts to 2018 final rule for MACRA’s Quality Payment Program CVS to offer nationwide next-day delivery in preemptive shot at Amazon Study:... READ MORE

On November 1, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) surprisingly finalized a proposal to reduce reimbursement by almost 27 percent for separately payable drugs purchased at reduced prices under the 340B drug discount program (“340B Program”). Currently, all 340B-participating hospitals (“Covered Entities”) except for critical access hospitals (“CAHs”) receive Medicare OPPS payments of... READ MORE

NATIONAL Opioid crisis: Feds relax HIPAA rules so doctors can share information with family members of a patient who overdoses CMS Administrator Verma Announces “Meaningful Measures” Initiative Leapfrog releases fall 2017 hospital safety grades: 6 things to know Hospice provider to pay record-setting $75 million false claims settlement Physician data offer new insights into... READ MORE