The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis recently announced an investigation into the role of four Fintech companies and partner banks in issuing allegedly fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. The Subcommittee’s press release references certain reports that the Fintech industry and its bank partners “have been linked to a disproportionate number of fraudulent
On June 1, 2021, the Oregon Governor, Kate Brown, signed House Bill 2508A (“HB2508A” or the “Bill”) which, among other things, requires parity for healthcare services delivered through telehealth, upon satisfaction of certain criteria. The Bill expands coverage of and reimbursement for telehealth services in Oregon, promoting equitable and safe access
California has issued new guidance for the use of face coverings that will take effect on June 15, 2021. The guidance impacts retailers and coincides with news that approximately 46% of Californians are now fully vaccinated. Although the new guidance, published by the California Department of Public Health (“CDPH”) will impact how retailers operate
This week, both houses of the New York state legislature passed a package of amendments (the “Amendments”) to the New York Health and Essential Rights Act (“HERO Act” or the “Act”) designed to clarify, modify, and delay implementation of certain provisions of the Act.
The HERO Act was signed by New York Governor Andrew
Like other players in the healthcare industry, physician groups are facing increased antitrust scrutiny from the Biden administration, with the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) and Department of Justice, Antitrust Division (the “DOJ”) (together the “Agencies”) continuing to expand their enforcement focus to include all types of transactions involving physician groups, including both traditional combinations,
After several fits and starts, on June 3, 2021, the Cal/OSHA Occupational Safety & Health Standards Board finally passed revised Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) that now take into account employee vaccination status and loosening restrictions from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and California’s elimination of the colored Tier system. The revised ETS will go
On May 30, 2021, Illinois lawmakers passed House Bill 3308 (“HB3308” or the “Bill”) aimed at expanding the use of telehealth services in the state. The Bill would increase access and coverage to telehealth by establishing payment parity for behavioral health and substance abuse services and by establishing a panel to
On May 13, 2021, MITRE Corporation, a non-profit that provides engineering and technical guidance for the federal government, published a long-awaited report proposing a National Strategy for Digital Health (the “Report”). The proposed strategy provides a framework and prescribes tangible action items in order to revolutionize the American healthcare system through digital
On May 28, 2021, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued an update to its December 2020 guidance regarding COVID-19 vaccinations and incentive programs. The long-awaited guidance provides clarification regarding mandatory vaccinations, employer and third-party provided vaccine incentives, and confidentiality of vaccination information. The EEOC guidance left open some questions surrounding vaccine incentives, including
On May 21, 2021, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) announced that the Next Generation Accountable Care Organization (“ACO”) Model (“NGACO Model” or “Model”), set to end December 31, 2021, will not be extended after receiving a one-year extension due to COVID-19. The decision comes as a surprise to NGACO participants and other
This article originally published on Food Manufacturing.com on June 1.
2020 was an up-and-down year for mergers and acquisitions in the food and beverage industry. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the first half of the year, deal making activity was largely put on hold. In the second half of the year, however,
Despite the coronavirus pandemic, the esports community has witnessed an explosive year of investment growth in 2020 and early 2021. Here is a brief summary of just some of the more significant esports acquisitions and investment transactions over the past year.
As for significant investments, in August 2020, Bitkraft Ventures, a worldwide esports venture
Amidst long-simmering diplomatic tensions between China and the United States, disputes arising out of Chinese companies’ alleged theft of technological trade secrets from rival American companies[1] have found their way to federal courtrooms. This stems, in part, from the availability of worldwide injunctive relief under the Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”), which provides American
In our January 26, 2021 blog post “Permanency for Out of State Telehealth Services? Arizona Seeks to Make Permanent Changes to Licensure Requirements”, we discussed Arizona’s push to make permanent resolutions to the temporary telehealth exceptions issued in connection with the public health emergency (the “Pandemic”). In that article, we also noted that
On May 6, 2021, the comment period for the proposed modification to regulations implementing the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) Privacy Rule and Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 (“HITECH”) closed. The Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) at the Department
The Biden Administration’s American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (H.R. 1319) (the “Act”) could present an opportunity for the growth of utilization of ambulatory surgery centers (“ASCs”), continuing the trend of migration of inpatient procedures to the outpatient setting. This shift toward the outpatient setting initially began prior to
