Certain COVID-19 emergency declaration blanket waivers are being phased out by the federal government, and health care providers should take steps to determine whether current arrangements are compliant. As background, in...more
5/10/2022
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Elder Care ,
ESRD ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Hospice ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
New Guidance ,
Nursing Homes ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Waivers
The federal Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently published a report (OIG Report) as part of a series of analyses of the expansion and utilization of telehealth in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency. In...more
3/22/2022
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Medicare ,
OIG ,
Patient Access ,
Relief Measures ,
Rural Areas ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine
Effective February 3, 2022, the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine (BoRM), which oversees physician licensure and the practice of medicine, updated its “Policy on Telemedicine in the Commonwealth” (Policy) to...more
On February 28, 2022, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) issued data on information blocking claims received since April 5, 2021, the effective date of information blocking...more
3/3/2022
/ 21st Century Cures Act ,
Electronic Medical Records ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Information Technologies ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
Information Blocking Rules ,
Information Technology ,
ONC ,
Regulatory Requirements
On November 4, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued heavily anticipated emergency regulations requiring COVID-19 vaccination of eligible staff at health care facilities that participate in the...more
11/5/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Essential Workers ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On August 19, 2021, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont issued Executive Order No. 13C (the “Order”) to expand access to COVID-19 vaccination information for patients and providers (and school nurses) as public health authorities...more
In June 2021, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a notable interpretation of the Physician Self-Referral Law (aka the Stark Law) in Advisory Opinion No. CMS-AO-2021-01 (Advisory Opinion) regarding...more
On June 23, 2021, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed into law Public Act 21-2 “An Act Concerning Provisions Related To Revenue And Other Items To Implement The State Budget For The Biennium Ending June 30, 2023” (PA...more
On June 21, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) adopted its COVID19 Healthcare Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). Employers providing health care services will be required to comply with new...more
6/21/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Essential Workers ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Guidance ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Public Health ,
Workplace Safety
On March 14, 2021, Connecticut Governor Lamont issued Executive Order 10C (EO 10C), which extends provisions of Public Act 20-2 (PA 20-2), a law passed by the Connecticut legislature in July 2020 that “provided additional...more
3/22/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Executive Orders ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Information Technologies ,
Health Insurance ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Patient Access ,
State and Local Government ,
Telecommunications ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine
On January 28, 2021, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a Fifth Amendment to HHS’s Declaration under the Public Health Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act) that provides liability immunity...more
2/1/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Immunity ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Liability ,
Medical Malpractice ,
Patient Access ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act) ,
Vaccinations
On December 10, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced proposed changes to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule, which is one of several rules that...more
HHS Publishes Significant Updates to Anti-Kickback Statute Safe-Harbors and Beneficiary Inducement CMP Regulations -
On November 30 and December 2, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector...more
The Robinson+Cole Health Law Group is committed to examining and reporting on issues important to the health care and life sciences industries. Below are excerpts from our Health Law Diagnosis blog, where we post on fraud and...more
On November 3, 2020, a Massachusetts Federal District Court issued a notable decision on the applicability of the state’s medical peer review privilege in a federal proceeding, determining that the privilege does not apply to...more
On November 20, 2020, the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) released heavily anticipated final rules revising the regulatory exceptions to the Physician Self-Referral Law (also known as the Stark Law), the...more
Health care providers interested in applying for additional CARES Act Provider Relief funding from the Phase 3 General Distribution have until November 6, 2020 to submit an application to the Department of Health & Human...more
On August 24, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced an “extension of the timeline” for publication of a final rule addressing changes to the Physician Self-Referral Law (or Stark Law) regulations....more
On July 14, 2020 Connecticut Governor Lamont issued Executive Order No. 7HHH, in which the Governor modified state law to enable the Commissioner of the Department of Public Health (DPH) to temporarily suspend licensure,...more
On July 2, 2020 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released guidance documents on the allowance of telehealth encounters for the Eligible Professional and Eligible Clinician electronic clinical quality...more
On June 9, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that it would distribute up to $25 billion of CARES Act Provider Relief Funds to safety net hospitals and state Medicaid and Children’s Health...more
On May 22, 2020 the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a 45-day extension of the deadline for providers who receive payments from the CARES Act Provider Relief Fund to accept the Terms and Conditions...more
On May 8, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published an interim final rule with comment period (the “Interim Rule”) in the Federal Register, setting forth additional regulatory waivers and other...more
On April 30, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an interim final rule with comment period (April 30 Interim Rule), building on previous regulatory waivers and other revisions to regulations issued...more
Amidst the cavalcade of regulatory and policy changes from federal and state governments intended to help health care providers confront the COVID-19 pandemic, on April 21, 2020 the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services...more
5/6/2020
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Physicians ,
Self-Referral ,
Stark Law ,
Waivers