The US Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) issued an Advisory Opinion (“21-01”) Friday, reinforcing how the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (“PREP Act” or the “Act”) (1) provides complete...more
On Thursday, December 17, 2020, senior representatives of the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) delivered a virtual...more
On December 1, 2020, CMS released its FY2021 Final Rule (“Final Rule”) updating the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS). The MPFS Final Rule is part of an annual cycle of regulations released during the fourth quarter of...more
On December 3, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued another groundbreaking amendment to the Declaration under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act). ...more
12/8/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Diagnostic Tests ,
Health Care Providers ,
Immunity ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Liability ,
Medical Supplies ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act) ,
Telehealth
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
Earlier last Friday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced their new, long-awaited rule changes to the...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently issued two new advisory opinions dramatically illuminating the wide scope of the PREP Act and its immunities for organizations using covered countermeasures in...more
Introduction -
A recent decision by a Texas Court of Appeals reaffirms several important principles regarding the medical peer review privilege: (1) communications arguably covered by the peer review privilege need not be...more
9/28/2020
/ Discovery ,
Email ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
In Camera Review ,
Medical Malpractice ,
Motion to Compel ,
Negligence ,
Peer Review ,
Physicians ,
Privileged Communication
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
Real estate startup HouseCanary made headlines when it secured a $700 million judgment against Title Source, Inc., now known as Amrock, in a trade secrets misappropriation case. In short, HouseCanary claimed that Amrock...more
To assist in the response of the nation’s health care providers to the COVID-19 pandemic, on August 24, 2020, the Secretary for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a Third Amendment to his March 10,...more
On August 7, 2020, the Fifth Circuit addressed an issue presently undecided by the Texas Supreme Court; namely, whether reformation of an overbroad non-compete restriction is appropriate, and perhaps even required, at the...more
In a strengthening of company contractual rights, the Louisiana Legislature recently expanded its state non-compete statute by permitting a corporation, partnership, or limited liability company to enter into agreements with...more
We are pleased to provide you with our 50-State Survey of Liability Protections for Senior Living and Long-Term Care Facilities.
Several states across the country have recently taken executive and/or legislative action...more
The “return to normal” in courts across the country has brought with it a flurry of trade secrets decisions that address some interesting and instructive issues, both procedurally and substantively....more
On June 4, 2020, the Secretary for the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a Notice of Amendment (Amendment) to his March 10, 2020 Declaration that had applied the federal immunities of the Public...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
On May 19, 2020, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of General Counsel (OGC) issued an advisory opinion (Advisory Opinion) finding that the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act1(PREP Act)...more
In a case following a familiar trade-secret set of facts, on April 28, 2020, the Texas First District Court of Appeals in Houston reversed the trial court’s grant of a motion to dismiss under the Texas Citizens Participation...more
To enhance regulatory flexibility necessary to adequately respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) recently announced that it is accepting...more
On April 27, 2020, the US Supreme Court ruled by an 8-1 decision that the federal government must pay billions of dollars to health insurers who sold consumer policies on exchanges under the Affordable Care Act’s (“ACA”)...more
4/28/2020
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Appropriations Bill ,
CARES Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Court of Federal Claims ,
Damages ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Financial Obligations ,
Government Payments ,
Health Insurance ,
Insurance Industry ,
Reimbursements ,
Remand ,
Repeal ,
Reversal ,
Risk Corridors Statute ,
SCOTUS
To assist hospitals in credentialing physicians during the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Practitioner Data Bank (“NDPB”)—the federal clearinghouse for adverse action reports against physicians—has announced it is waiving...more
4/20/2020
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Eligibility ,
Enrollment ,
Fee Waivers ,
Fees ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Hospitals ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) ,
Physicians
With crisis comes uncertainty, and even the best-intentioned regulations can leave those combating the current COVID-19 public-health emergency out in the cold. Many have asked whether the recent Declaration under the...more
4/15/2020
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Eligibility ,
Emergency Response ,
Enrollment ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Hospitals ,
Medicaid ,
Medicaid Expansion ,
Medicare ,
OIG ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
State and Local Government
A critical aspect of the response to the COVID-19 public-health crisis in the United States is the rapid expansion of testing capabilities across the country, with one avenue of expansion being authorized testing by qualified...more
A critical aspect of the response to the COVID-19 public-health crisis in the United States is the rapid expansion of testing capabilities across the country. Given that almost all Americans live in close proximity to retail...more