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
Seyfarth Synopsis: On August 3, 2020, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a new law that rolled back protections for nursing homes and hospitals in New York in connection with COVID-19 liabilities...more
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
Seyfarth Synopsis: OSHA issues specific guidance related to COVID-19 policies, administrative controls, engineering controls, personal protective equipment, and face masks....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
As previously reported, the CARES Act impacts long-term care (LTC) facilities, including skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and nursing facilities (NFs). In addition to this legislative action, the Centers for Medicare and...more
4/14/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Civil Liability ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Executive Orders ,
Governors ,
Health Care Providers ,
Immunity ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act) ,
Relief Measures ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Secretary of HHS ,
State and Local Government ,
Waivers
Congress passed and the President signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (Pub. L. 116-136) (“CARES Act”) on March 27, 2020. We recently provided guidance on how the CARES Act impacts hospitals. ...more
4/8/2020
/ Accelerated Payments ,
CARES Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part A ,
Medicare Part D ,
Physician Medicare Reimbursements ,
Physicians ,
Relief Measures ,
Skilled Nursing Facility
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
As reported in Seyfarth’s April 2, 2020 COVID-19 Update, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (Pub. L. 116-136) (“CARES Act” or “Act”)...more
4/6/2020
/ Accelerated Payments ,
CARES Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part A ,
Medicare Part D ,
Physician Medicare Reimbursements ,
Physicians ,
Relief Measures
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
The Houston Bar Association and the University of Houston Law Center Health Law & Policy Institute partnered to host the “Guidance on Health Care Fraud Enforcement and Compliance - A Conversation with HHS Counsel and Other...more
12/13/2019
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Physicians ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Stark Law