“The guidance reminds the public that the HIPAA Privacy Rule does not apply to employers or employment records.”[1]
On September 30, 2021, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) released guidance (the “Guidance”) entitled, “HIPAA, COVID-19 Vaccination, and the Workplace,” regarding the applicability of…
On October 4, 2021, the California Senate Bill 650 (“SB 650”), also known as the Corporate Transparency in Elder Care Act of 2021, was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom. As described below, SB 650 is designed to provide the public with greater transparency as to skilled nursing facility (‘SNF”) ownership and finances.
Currently, an organization…
As the world continues to shift and adapt to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the digital health sector has experienced tremendous growth and the momentum has only accelerated in 2021.
According to the Digital Health Funding and M&A 2021 First Half Report released by Mercom Capital, the first half of 2021 closed with $14.7 billion invested…
On August 10, 2021, the Senate passed H.R. 3684, a roughly $1 trillion infrastructure bill (the “Infrastructure Bill”) that authorizes funds for federal-aid highways, transit, broadband access and other infrastructure purposes. Notably, the Infrastructure Bill is paid for in part through changes to several healthcare policies, including delaying a Medicare Part D rebate rule…
On August 10, 2021, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (“CMS”) published a proposed rule (“Proposed Rule”) to rescind the Most Favored Nation Model (“MFN Model”) interim final rule that was published on November 26, 2020 (“Interim Final Rule”). As described in our December 2020 blog post, the Interim Final Rule established seven-year nationwide,…
In its June 2021 physician supply and demand report, “The Complexities of Physician Supply and Demand: Projections From 2019 to 2034” (the “Report”), the Association of American Medical Colleges (“AAMC”) highlights the ongoing concern of physician shortages in the United States. According to the Report, the U.S. faces a potential physician shortage of…
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 to care.
A key…
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,…
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 study payment parity for…
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 tools and…
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…
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 of Health and Human Services (“HHS”)…
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 the COVID-19 public health…
On April 15, 2021, the FCC announced that on Thursday, April 29, 2021 at 12:00 PM ET it will begin accepting applications for the second round of its COVID-19 Telehealth Program (the “Program”). The filing window will last for seven days and will close on Thursday, May 6, 2021 at 12:00 PM ET. All applications…
State and federal regulators, Congress, and the plaintiffs’ bar are increasingly focused on compliance with the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPEA), particularly given the opioid epidemic and COVID-19’s impact on mental health. MHPAEA compliance and enforcement is a top priority for the United States Department of Labor (DOL) and the National Association…
