Articles and Blogs

In an April 15, 2021 letter, the EEOC addressed a request for guidance on employer-provided incentives aimed at encouraging employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The agency indicated, at the time, that they were updating their technical assistance guide to address the extent to which employers may offer employee incentives to vaccinate. Specifically, the guidance…Read More

The Information Blocking Rule (45 CFR part 171) is only a month into effect, and improved access to medical records, particularly concurrent delivery of lab results to the provider and patient and increased access to provider notes through patient portals, already has led to scrutiny of accurate encounter notes and complicated patient satisfaction issues for…Read More

As the world anticipates a gradual return to normalcy, there are numerous questions about the extent to which the “new normal” will look like the “old normal,” from the commercial real estate market to social norms regarding personal space and social touching (such as hugs and handshakes). Within employment law, one of the questions is…Read More

Most of the new changes to the federal Stark and Anti-Kickback Statutes went into effect on January 19, 2021. Since then hospitals, health systems and medical groups nationwide have focused on updating their physician contracting, compensation and compliance programs to align with the new regulations. This alert focuses on specific changes to the Stark “group…Read More

The FFY 2022 IPPS Proposed Rule (“Proposed Rule”) was released on April 27, 2021, and CMS published the associated tables on its website. In addition, the Proposed Rule is expected to be published in the Federal Register on May 10. The release of the Proposed Rule and the accompanying tables triggers the start of several…Read More

On April 8, 2021, the Quality, Safety & Oversight Group at Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued a memorandum entitled “Updates to Long-Term Care (LTC) Emergency Regulatory Waivers Issued in Response to COVID-19” (“Blanket Waiver Update Memo”) that announced the termination of several blanket waivers for skilled nursing facilities (“SNFs”) related to resident transfers,…Read More

As we previously explained here, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARP”) includes a provision for 100% subsidized COBRA continuation coverage for employees and family members who experience a loss of group health plan coverage due to the employee’s involuntary termination or reduced hours of employment (the “COBRA Subsidy”) during the period from April…Read More