Articles and Blogs

Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) published the much-anticipated Final Rule for the new Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (“MIPS”) and Advanced Alternative Payment Models (“AAPMs”) pathways to payment pursuant to the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (“MACRA”). A copy of the Final Rule can be found here, and more…Read More

Review of Changes to Sections on Infection Control, Compliance and Ethics Program, Physical Environment and Training Requirements This is the fourth article in a series discussing the complete overhaul of Part 483 to Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations, the Requirements for States and Long-Term Care Facilities by the Centers for Medicare &…Read More

The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) recently issued Advisory Opinion 16-10, which approved an arrangement between two health care districts to coordinate the education and transportation of patients with financial need (“Proposed Arrangement”). OIG stated that it would not impose sanctions against the parties for violations of the Anti-Kickback…Read More

Review of Changes to Sections on Laboratory, Radiology and Other Diagnostic Services; Dental Services; Food and Nutrition Services; Specialized Rehabilitative Services; Administration; and Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement This is the third article in a series discussing the complete overhaul of Part 483 to Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations, the Requirements for…Read More

On October 3, 2016, the Department of Justice announced that it had reached a settlement agreement with a health care services company based in Dallas, Texas (the “Company”) and two of its Atlanta-area subsidiaries (“Hospitals”) (collectively, the “Parties”) to settle a case originally brought by a whistleblower under the False Claims Act. As part of the settlement,…Read More

Review of Changes to Sections on Quality of Life, Quality of Care, Physician Services, Nursing Services, Behavioral Health Services and Pharmacy Services This is the second article in a series discussing the complete overhaul of Part 483 to Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations, the Requirements for States and Long-Term Care Facilities by…Read More

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia recently found in favor of a hospital that challenged CMS’s outlier reconciliation process. The District Court in Clarian Health West v. Burwell1 stated the outlier reconciliation process violated the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”) because CMS should have allowed for notice and comment prior to starting the…Read More

Review of Changes to Sections on Resident Rights, Freedom from Abuse, Admission, Transfers, Discharge, Resident Assessments and Comprehensive Resident-Centered Care This is the first article in a series discussing the complete overhaul of Part 483 to Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations, the Requirements for States and Long-Term Care Facilities by the Centers…Read More

The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) recently issued Advisory Opinion 16-09, which provided a favorable opinion of a company’s (“Requestor’s”) proposal to provide physician offices with a computerized point-of-care vaccine storage and dispensing system free of charge, subject to certain other requirements (“Arrangement”). OIG stated it would not impose…Read More

To transfer personal data from the European Union (“EU”) to the United States (“US”), a legal basis for the transfer must exist. The EU and the US have agreed to new principles, referred to as Privacy Shield Principles (“Privacy Shield” or “Principles”), that will permit the transfer of personal data between the US and the…Read More