On April 16, 2020, the Trump Administration issued its “Opening Up America Again Guidelines” (the “OUAA Guidelines”) as a self-styled roadmap to the staged reopening of the American economy.
On Sunday, April 19, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) followed suit by issuing new guidance (the “Reopening Guidance”)
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On April 21, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released “Explanatory Guidance” related to the March 30, 2020 Blanket Waivers of Section 1877(g) of the Social Security Act (information about those waivers available in our previous blog post here), applicable during the COVID-19 public health emergency (“PHE”). The Explanatory
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When Alex Azar, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (“DHHS”), declared a national emergency on January 31, 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, he triggered an exception to the “in-person medical evaluation” requirement for online prescribing as set forth in the Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act of 2008…
On Wednesday, April 9, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) hosted a call entitled “COVID-19 with Nursing Homes.” CMS leadership aimed to provide updates on the agency’s latest guidance, joined by leaders in the field interested in sharing best practices with their peers.
CMS was represented on the call by Jean D.
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On Tuesday, April 7, 2020, the California Department of Managed Health Care (the “DMHC”) released a guidance letter (the “Letter”) to all health care service plans regarding billing for and delivering telehealth services during the COVID-19 state of emergency. The Letter provides follow-up guidance to previous guidance the DMHC released on Wednesday, March
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On April 2, 2020, the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) announced a Notification of Enforcement Discretion to allow certain uses and disclosures of Protected Health Information (“PHI”) by HIPAA business associates during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Understanding that the CDC, CMS
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As a follow up, to our post from Thursday, April 9, 2020, today, the FCC announced that it will begin accepting applications for its $200 million COVID-19 Telehealth Program (“Program”). Health care providers can submit applications at the FCC’s Program Webpage, but should be sure to follow previous guidance for pre- and post-filing
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On Friday, April 10, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) began distributing $30B of the $100B appropriated in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act to the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund (“PHSSEF”), also called the “CARES Act Provider Relief Fund”. HHS distributed the funds to providers based
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The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) provides many avenues of potential funding relief for health care providers and suppliers who are suffering increased expenses and lost revenues as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Some of these funding opportunities may or will require affirmative action by a health care provider or…
In this time of crisis, nonprofits of all shapes and sizes have been scrambling to obtain assistance under the federal CARES Act. Sheppard Mullin’s Nonprofit Team is grateful for the special opportunity to help by partnering with Independent Sector, a prominent national coalition representing the diverse interests of charitable organizations and corporate philanthropy programs
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On April 2, 2020, the FCC announced plans for a $200 million COVID-19 Telehealth Program (the “Program”) to support health care providers responding to the pandemic. (FCC 20-44). The Program will use funds allocated by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to provide broadband connectivity services and devices that will…
On March 30, 2020, CMS through its blanket 1135 waiver authority[1] implemented a “Hospital without Walls” policy to allow hospitals to provide and bill for hospital services in other healthcare facilities and sites, such as ambulatory surgery centers (“ASCs”). The waiver is intended to ensure that local hospitals and health systems have the capacity
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On March 17, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued a memorandum to provide information to organizations that participate in the All Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (“PACE”) program in furtherance of preventing the spread of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (“COVID-19”).
COVID-19 Control and
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On March 30, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a series of temporary regulatory waivers in order to aid the response to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), as follows.
Increasing Hospital Capacity – Hospitals Without Walls
Federal rules have historically required hospitals to provide their services within their hospital buildings. However,
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On March 25, 2020, the Division of Corporate Finance of the Securities and Exchange Commission published guidance on disclosure obligations of companies with respect to COVID-19 and related disruptions. The SEC recognizes that the full impact of COVID-19 on any company or industry may be difficult to predict, but such effects may still be material
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On Monday, March, 30, 2020, CMS released a blanket waiver (the “Waiver”) of the physician self-referral law under section 1135 of the Social Security Act to enable health care provider responses to the COVID-19 outbreak. Effective retroactively to March 1, 2020, the Waiver broadly eliminates certain key Stark Law requirements for direct financial relationships between…
