News Briefs
Texas Federal Court Ruling Puts Noncompete Ban on Hold
A Texas federal court issued a preliminary injunction against the Federal Trade Commission's noncompete ban, which if implemented would allow existing noncompete arrangements for senior executives to remain in effect but would bar employers from entering into any new compete agreements. The rule had been set to take effect September 4, but with the ruling from U.S. District Judge Ada Brown, the court will now consider whether the FTC has the authority to enforce the ban.
(Source: Healthcare Finance News, 2024-07-08)
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House Committee Advances Breakthrough Medical Device Legislation
The House Ways and Means Committee advanced bipartisan legislation that would grant Medicare coverage to novel medical technologies for four years while the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services makes a national coverage determination. The Ensuring Patient Access to Critical Breakthrough Products Act of 2024, if passed, would give any device designated as "breakthrough" from the Food and Drug Administration four years of Medicare coverage.
(Source: FierceHealthcare, 2024-07-02)
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Hospitals, Health Employers Concerned as Nursing Visas Hit Limit
In its July Visa Bulletin, the State Department announced that almost all green card places for which skilled workers and nurses are eligible had reached full capacity for the remainder of the fiscal year, which ends on 30 September. Health groups have warned of the strain this could cause for hospitals, nursing homes, and other key health employers by creating extensive waiting periods for nurses to obtain their visas for working in the U.S.
(Source: ITIJ, 2024-06-28)
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Healthcare Deal Activity Expected to Continue to Thrive in 2024
Despite major headwinds that still buffet the industry, deal volumes so far this year are largely consistent with those seen in 2023 and remain above pre-COVID levels, according to a new report. The researchers said many dealmakers in the market have adapted to challenges like interest rates and related effects, and that backdrop, along with a significant amount of available capital, should "continue to bolster deal activity throughout 2024."
(Source: FierceHealthcare, 2024-06-26)
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CMS Proposes Cracking Down on Suspicious Billing Activity
CMS has proposed a rule to address "significant, anomalous, and highly suspect" billing activity within the Medicare Shared Savings Program, including durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies billing. Slated to be published to the Federal Register, the proposed rule aims to mitigate the impact of the billing activity in question as it relates to the reconciliation of accountable care organization payments in calendar year 2023.
(Source: RevCycle Intelligence, 2024-07-01)
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As Hospices Boost Technology Use, Cybersecurity Risks Rise
Increased technology utilization in end-of-life care has come with innovative care delivery opportunities alongside cybersecurity risks. Hospices have widened the breadth of ways they leverage technology including artificial intelligence-assisted patient therapies to boost quality and use of predictive analytics to improve access and length of stay.
(Source: Hospice News, 2024-07-08)
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Healthcare Industry Up in Arms About Proposed Cybersecurity Rule
A proposed rule that would require the nation's most critical industries to more quickly report cyberattacks is raising the ire of the healthcare industry, which claims the new directives could actually hinder its response in a crisis. Cyberattacks have sent shockwaves across the health care industry, but regulators and providers don't agree on how to get a handle on the problem.
(Source: Axios, 2024-07-08)
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Healthcare Sector Warned About Social Engineering Threat
HHS and the Federal Bureau of Investigation released a joint cybersecurity advisory to disseminate indicators of compromise related to a social engineering campaign targeting healthcare and public health entities. Specifically, the CSA warned that threat actors have been using phishing schemes to steal login credentials for initial access and divert automated clearinghouse payments to US-controlled bank accounts.
(Source: HealthIT Security, 2024-07-01)
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Insurance Companies Covering Fewer Drugs, Research Shows
Insurance companies' lists of covered drugs, called formularies, are shrinking. In 2010, the average Medicare formulary covered about three-quarters of all drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration, according to new research by GoodRx, a website that helps patients find discounts on prescription drugs, but now it's a little more than half.
(Source: NPR, 2024-06-27)
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CMS to Post New Information on Compare Website
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced that it will begin posting certain nursing home ownership information, as well as aggregated MDS data for all residents at a facility, both for the first time, and issue new guides for consumers, on the Nursing Home Compare website. The agency also said it will unfreeze staffing level ratings to implement a previously announced new staffing level case-mix adjustment methodology and tweak the way it calculates nursing home staffing turnover.
(Source: McKnight's Long-Term Care News, 2024-07-01)
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