Articles and Blogs

Before the pandemic, it had long been understood that, in most cases, employers may validly view reporting to work as an essential job function. That is now a much more questionable proposition. Now that many industries have abruptly shifted towards a work‑from‑home norm, it is arguable that reporting to work can no longer be considered…Read More

Last week, HHS announced a Phase 3 round of general distributions from The Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund (“Relief Fund”). That announcement was further discussed in our client alert and describes an additional $20 billion to be distributed, with applications opening this past Monday, October 5. On Monday, October 5, HHS updated its…Read More

On September 28, 2020, the Quality, Safety & Oversight Group at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued a memorandum entitled “Guidance related to the Emergency Preparedness Testing Exercise Requirements- Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)” (“QSO Memo”) that confirms that certain testing and training exemptions are available based on activation of emergency plans and the declared…Read More

With children across the country returning to school amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the upcoming flu season approaching, families can now look to licensed pharmacists to administer childhood vaccines. The United States has experienced a drastic decrease in vaccination rates among children as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. In an attempt to address this…Read More

The Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund (“Relief Fund”) was originally appropriated $100 billion from the CARES Act to provide payment to hospitals and other health care entities for COVID‑19-related expenses and lost revenue. The Relief Fund later received an additional $75 billion appropriation through the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act,…Read More

Mergers and acquisitions in the health care industry present unique challenges that are not often present when undertaking similar transactions in other industries.  Because of health care’s highly regulated nature, parties may falter if a health care transaction is not reviewed and negotiated carefully with respect to the distinct concerns that health care presents. The…Read More

Update as of 10/27/20: CMS initially announced that the RO Model would be implemented effective January 1, 2021.  However, on October 21, 2020, CMS announced that in response to stakeholder input, implementation of the RO Model will be delayed until July 1, 2021.  CMS will be pursuing rulemaking to accomplish this change. On September 18,…Read More

The Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) recently released details about qualifying for its nursing home infection control distributions. Previously, on September 3, 2020, HHS announced the details of its $2 billion Provider Relief Fund (“PRF”) performance-based incentive payment distribution to nursing homes (“NH Incentive Payments”). “Nursing homes” refers to skilled nursing facilities (often…Read More

On Saturday, September 19, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) published its highly anticipated Final Provider Relief Fund Reporting Guidelines (“Reporting Guidelines”) for providers (“Recipients”) who received more than $10,000 in relief fund payments from the Provider Relief Fund created by the CARES Act (“Relief Fund”). The Reporting Guidelines (available here) include detailed information…Read More