According to a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) study reported in Health Affairs on March 24, 2020, national health care spending reached $3.81 trillion in 2019 and is projected to increase to $4.01 trillion by the end of 2020. CMS also projects that by 2028, health care spending will reach $6.19 trillion, and
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In a July 21, 2020 American Hospital Association (“AHA”) Press Release, the AHA announced the results of a new analysis prepared by Kaufman, Hall & Associates, LLC that, “highlights the dire impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the financial health of hospitals and health systems.” According to the Press Release, the analysis shows that,
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Many areas of the country are experiencing resurgences of COVID-19, and it is foreseeable that second and perhaps third waves of the virus will hit pockets of the country throughout the remainder of 2020. As healthcare organizations struggle to balance their continued response efforts to the pandemic, with preparations for future waves, we have received
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On July 17, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) announced it will begin distributing $10 billion in a second round of funding to hospitals operating in high impact COVID-19 areas. The distribution is anticipated to begin as early as today, Monday, July 20, 2020. Hospitals with over 161 COVID-19 admissions between January…
On June 25, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) announced its proposed Home Health Prospective Payment System Rule, for calendar year 2021 (the “Rule”), which aims to increase home health agency Medicare payment rates. This Rule also includes a provision to make permanent the regulatory changes related to telecommunication technologies
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While traditionally healthcare businesses have tended to look to patent protection, it would behoove them to also think about trade secret protection to protect their valuable inventions. Given the financial strains on businesses from the COVID-19 pandemic, some businesses may find trade secret protection a cost-efficient alternative to the patent process. Trade secret enforcement also
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In a June 23, 2020 decision, Judge Nichol of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) and against the plaintiff hospital associations challenging CMS’s transparency rule. As a result, hospitals will (pending any appeals) have to post private negotiated rates
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This week, Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) proposed the Equal Access to Care Act (the “EACA”), which would allow licensed providers to provide services via telehealth in any state, in any location for up to 180 days after the end of the public health emergency period.
The EACA changes the way that
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On Thursday, June 11, 2020, the U.S. House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis,[1] chaired by Rep. James E. Clyburn, held a video briefing (the “SCC Briefing”) with experts and affected individuals to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on nursing home residents and workers.
With the Center for Disease Control and Prevention…
According to an April 13, 2020 Press Release issued by the National Association of ACOs (“NAACOS”), a recent NAACOS survey shows that 56% of the survey-participating at-risk accountable care organizations (“ACOs”) – i.e., ACOs participating in a Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (“CMMI”) alternative payment model (“APM”) and assuming financial risk thereunder – said
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According to a recent study (Study) regarding the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the conduct of oncology clinical trials,[i] the COVID-19 pandemic has materially disrupted the conduct of clinical research and trials in much of the world. The observed disruptors include an observed decrease in patient enrollment in clinical trials and
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Sheppard Mullin and Citrin Cooperman have released the second video of their series of recordings focused on guiding healthcare organizations and providers through the different components of their Telehealth Maturity Model.
On this second video/recording, entitled, Revenue Cycle Considerations for Telehealth: Receiving Payment for Telehealth Services, Sheppard Mullin and Citrin Cooperman representatives:
(i) revisit
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The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provided trillions in economic relief in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including hundreds of billions of dollars in aid for the healthcare industry. Regulators in the healthcare industry have also adjusted regulations and procedures in response to the changing landscape caused by the pandemic. While the…
On May 18, 2020, California Senate Bill 977 (“SB-977”) was passed out of the California Senate Health Committee and is now scheduled for its first hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee on June 1, 2020. SB-977 as written would subject all acquisitions and affiliations on and after January 1, 2021 by larger health systems,
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In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court in NFIB v. Sebelius struck down a provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the “ACA”) which, for all intents and purposes, made the expansion of the Medicaid program voluntary for individual states. As a consequence, the Medicaid expansion provided for in the ACA has
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On April 27, Sheppard Mullin and Citrin Cooperman released a white paper entitled “Telehealth Development: Addressing the Current Need, While Strategically Position for the Future” addressing how federal and state regulators are promoting the expansion of telehealth. Healthcare organizations, of all types and sizes, are working to respond to the rapidly-changing regulatory environment.
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