Articles and Blogs

On May 19, 2020 the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office of the General Counsel (“OGC”) issued an advisory opinion (the “Opinion”) that concludes that the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (“PREP”) Act, “…preempts any state or local requirement that prohibits or effectively prohibits a pharmacist from ordering and administering a COVID-19 diagnostic…Read More

On May 18, 2020, Governor Whitmer issued Executive Order 91 (the “Order”), effectively creating an enforceable set of workplace standards applying to all businesses across the state.[i] In addition to standards set for all business, the new Order provides standards for workplace environments, such as offices and research laboratories.[ii] Per the Order, any Michigan business…Read More

The federal and state responses to COVID-19 have resulted in a dizzying and ever-evolving array of executive orders, waivers, flexibilities, emergency declarations and enforcement discretion (collectively referred to as, “regulatory flexibilities”) that significantly change the rules governing health care providers. Although regulatory flexibilities and relief funds are in part intended to shield frontline responders from…Read More

It’s a Buyer’s Market The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the financial viability of many independent physician practices across the country. Hospitals and health systems may need to act quickly to help stabilize these valuable community health care resources and also may have opportunities to enhance integration with their independent physicians. Now is the…Read More

The Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) issued multiple updates related to the CARES Act Provider Relief Fund on May 20. These updates include announcing a June 3 deadline for eligible health care providers (“Providers”) to submit revenue information through the Provider Relief Fund General Distribution Payment Portal (“General Distribution Payment Portal”), updating the…Read More

Wednesday, May 20 Update Our Federal Advocacy Team is dedicated to providing frequent COVID-19 updates as they develop. Going forward, these updates will be distributed as developments warrant instead of nightly. These updates along with other resources can be found ​on the COVID-19 ​Resource ​Center page ​of Hall Render’s website​. Note – ​we believe this is the…Read More

In a song titled “When the Man Comes Around” Johnny Cash sang that “there’s a man going round, taking names…and he decides who to free and who to blame.” How well hospitals and health systems document their blanket waiver arrangements in response to COVID-19 may dictate whether they are “freed” or “blamed” by CMS once…Read More

Tuesday, May 19 Update Our Federal Advocacy Team is dedicated to providing frequent COVID-19 updates as they develop. Going forward, these updates will be distributed as developments warrant instead of nightly. These updates along with other resources can be found ​on the COVID-19 ​Resource ​Center page ​of Hall Render’s website​. Note – ​we believe this is the…Read More

Residential treatment facilities that provide substance use disorder (“SUD”) or other sensitive health services, such as mental health, behavioral health or developmental disability diagnosis and treatment, are again faced with a dilemma this year: do they provide patient information to the U.S. Census Bureau (the “Bureau”) enumerators to comply with the 2020 Census group quarters…Read More

On May 11, 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services published a policy memorandum providing temporary flexibility for physicians completing a J-1 waiver service obligation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The policy memorandum addresses the full-time work requirement and telehealth services for these physicians in light of the Public Health Emergency issued in response to the COVID-19…Read More