Articles and Blogs

NATIONAL Amazon’s leaked ‘Clinic’ would connect patients to telemedicine AHA responds to House request for feedback on stabilizing MACRA programs AI can enable better fall prevention for seniors CMS sets court-ordered 340B drug payments, but leaves back payment issues unresolved How CVS, Amazon and Walgreens are pushing into primary care, home health Like ordering... READ MORE

If your organization is a teaching hospital that disputes data in the CMS Hospital Cost Report Information System (“HCRIS”) file in connection with Section 131 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act (“CAA”), you have a deadline of November 18, 2022, to submit information to your Medicare Administrative Contractors (“MACs”). The official CMS posting is available... READ MORE

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) intends to increase its oversight and scrutiny of skilled nursing facilities in its Special Focus Facility (“SFF”) program. CMS is revising the SFF program to protect and improve the quality of care that residents living in these skilled nursing facilities receive. This action is being taken... READ MORE

PWC and the Urban Land Institute published their Emerging Trends in Real Estate report for 2023. The report is extensive and wide-ranging in scope, but one interesting finding was a list of markets where the greatest overall real estate growth is expected in 2023. Among the hottest markets were Nashville, Dallas-Fort Worth, Atlanta, Austin,... READ MORE

NATIONAL AHA calls outpatient payment rate in final rule ‘insufficient’ given cost pressures AMA scrutinizes lack of competition, consumer harms in Medicare Advantage plans CMS bumps ASC payments to 3.8 percent in final rule CMS gives nursing homes a longer leash on staff COVID-19 vaccination requirements CMS locks in court-ordered 340B drug payment rates... READ MORE

In October 2021, the Texas Medical Association (“TMA”) sued the Departments of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), Labor and Treasury and the Office of Personnel Management (collectively, the “Departments”) challenging an Interim Final Rule which required certified independent dispute resolution (“IDR”) entities to employ a presumption in favor of the qualifying payment amount (“QPA”)... READ MORE

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) has retooled guidance it armed surveyors with regarding how to survey skilled nursing facilities for compliance with the CMS staff vaccine requirements. The revisions address condition-level and actual harm determinations to ensure that deficiency citations recognize good faith efforts by providers. On October 26, 2022, CMS... READ MORE

Parties to litigation are often dismayed by its costs. Attorney fees alone can motivate the payment of handsome settlements even in meritless cases, and litigation costs tend to make traditional litigation unavailable, impracticable or uneconomical as a tool for individuals and organizations if substantial funds are not available or if the dispute is not... READ MORE

Health care experts are concerned the U.S. could face a “tripledemic” this winter if cases of Covid-19, the flu and RSV all surge at the same time. Some experts are concerned that hospitals may be overwhelmed as a result of staffing shortages. After Hurricane Ian made landfall in southwest Florida, communities continue to grapple... READ MORE

Michigan voters are being asked whether to add a new section to the state constitution concerning “reproductive freedom.” Proposal 3 would initiate a new law (which can be read in full on the Secretary of State’s website) that would include the following: Proclaim that “every individual has a fundamental right to reproductive freedom, which... READ MORE