As mentioned in our earlier report, on November 20, 2020, The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published two long-awaited final...more
Health care providers looking for long-awaited answers to new proposed rules changes governing physician self-referral arrangements may have to wait a bit longer. ...more
9/10/2020
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Electronic Health Record Incentives ,
Final Rules ,
Health Care Providers ,
OIG ,
Physicians ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Self-Referral ,
Stark Law
On September 1, 2020, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), announced that assisted living facilities (ALFs)...more
Prescription drug prices are one of the biggest drivers of rising health care costs. To address this issue, the Trump administration issued its Executive Order on Lowering Prices for Patients by Eliminating Kickbacks to...more
8/28/2020
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Anti-Rebate Statutes ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Discount Pricing ,
Drug Pricing ,
Medicare Part D ,
OIG ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Safe Harbors ,
Trump Administration
Approximately one week after announcing $4.9 billion in supplemental payments under the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund (the "Relief Fund") to skilled nursing facilities ("SNFs") for “critical needs such as...more
6/15/2020
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Medicaid Reimbursements ,
Nursing Homes ,
Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Relief Measures ,
Skilled Nursing Facility ,
Surveys ,
Virus Testing
On May 22, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) began distributing $4.9 Billion in additional relief funds to Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) to help in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic....more
The US Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) recently announced its “Strategic Plan: Oversight of COVID-19 Response and Recovery,” a document that sets forth OIG top goals and...more
As previously reported, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued Executive Order GA-15 extending the ban on surgeries and procedures with modifications regarding diagnostic procedures, timely (rather than immediate) need for...more
4/27/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Elective Surgical Procedures ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Executive Orders ,
Governor Abbott ,
Guidance Update ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
Physicians ,
State of Emergency
On April 17, 2020, Texas Governor, Gregg Abbot signed Executive Order GA-15 which extended, with some modifications, Executive Order GA-09 which prohibits certain non-emergency surgeries and procedures and is set to expire on...more
4/21/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Elective Surgical Procedures ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Executive Orders ,
Governor Abbott ,
Guidance Update ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
Physicians ,
State and Local Government ,
State of Emergency ,
Texas
On April 3, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) issued a policy statement of enforcement discretion (the “Policy Statement”) regarding sanctions under the Federal...more
4/7/2020
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Fair Market Value ,
Guidance Update ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
OIG ,
Physicians ,
Policy Statement ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Safe Harbors ,
Stark Law ,
Value-Based Care
On Thursday, April 2, 2020, the Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) issued a Notification of Enforcement Discretion under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”)....more
Congress passed and the President signed the CARES Act on March 27, 2020. The Act impacts hospitals, post-acute providers and long term care facilities in numerous ways. The following is an outline of key provisions and their...more
4/2/2020
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Eligibility ,
Enrollment ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Hospitals ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare