On October 26, 2022, CMS issued revised guidance on COVID-19 vaccination requirements for staff working for Medicare-certified and Medicaid-certified providers and suppliers. While the revised guidance was issued in separate...more
Following President Biden’s Executive Order on ensuring access to reproductive health care, on July 13, 2022, HHS issued guidance to U.S. retail pharmacies regarding their obligations under federal civil rights laws. This...more
8/1/2022
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Biden Administration ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ,
Executive Orders ,
Guidance Update ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
Pharmacies ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Rehabilitation Act ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues ,
SCOTUS
On June 13, 2022, HHS OCR issued guidance on how covered health care providers and health plans can use remote communication technologies to provide audio-only telehealth services when conducted in a manner consistent with...more
On April 29, 2022, CMS issued its final rule for Medicare Advantage (MA) and Part D plans with updates including reduced out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs and improved consumer protections. CMS published the final...more
5/11/2022
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Drug Pricing ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
Marketing ,
Medical Loss Ratio ,
Medicare Advantage ,
Medicare Part D ,
Out-of-Pocket Expenses ,
Price Transparency ,
Proposed Rules ,
Waivers
On April 11, 2022, CMS issued its FY 2023 Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Prospective Payment System (PPS) proposed rule updating Medicare payment policies and rates for SNFs. The proposed rule also includes proposals for the...more
On March 10, 2022, the Senate passed a $1.5 trillion omnibus appropriations bill (the Omnibus Bill) to fund the federal government for fiscal year 2022 (FY 2022) that contained significant healthcare-related provisions...more
3/16/2022
/ Appropriations Bill ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Veterans Affairs ,
Mental Health ,
Public Health Emergency ,
RAISE Act ,
Rural Health Care Providers ,
Scientific Research ,
Section 340B ,
Substance Abuse ,
Telehealth
On February 7, 2022, the Northern District of New York dismissed a qui tam complaint against a New York nursing facility operator, Kingston NH Operations LLC, which operates Ten Broeck Center (TBC). The relator, a former...more
On December 29, 2021, the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) announced CMS’s approval of its California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) proposal. CalAIM’s launch on January 1, 2022 is part of a...more
On October 18, 2021, a U.S. District Court in Hawaii decided that providers subject to the federal Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act (EKRA) are permitted to pay employees and independent contractors sales commissions for...more
In a continued effort to ensure cost is not a barrier to vaccine access, on September 24, 2021, CMS announced that it will pay for Medicare beneficiaries’ COVID-19 booster doses without any cost sharing. Medicare...more
On August 18, 2021, President Biden announced that CMS would develop an emergency regulation to require nursing home staff vaccinations. This announcement comes after months of incentives and giveaways to increase the...more