The CMS Interoperability and Prior Authorization Rules
Podcast — Drug Pricing: How Are Payers Responding to the IRA?
Findings from Gibbins’ Annual Healthcare Bankruptcy Report
A Fond Farewell: Musings on the End of the Medicare Advantage Hospice Carve-In Demonstration
Video: Braidwood v. Becerra – Challenging the Affordable Care Act’s Preventive Services Coverage Provision – Thought Leaders in Health Law
Hospice and Home Health Survey Perspectives: A Conversation with Kim Skehan, VP of Accreditation at CHAP
Transparency and the Open Payments Program
Taking the Pulse, A Health Care and Life Sciences Video Podcast | Episode 173: Improving rural health care with Dr. Kevin Bennett, the Director of the Research Center for Transforming Health and the
Counsel That Cares - The Private Payer's Perspective on Value-Based Care
Podcast: Health Equity – Behind the Buzzwords – Diagnosing Health Care
A Very “Special” Episode: Amid Controversy, CMS Launches the Hospice Special Focus Program
Grace from CMS: Unexpected Good News on HIS and CAHPS Appeals
This Bandwagon Has a Broken Wheel: OIG Joins the Inconsistent Approach to Hospice GIP Claims
Behind the Curtain: Enhanced Provider Enrollment Oversight
Survey Woes: CMS Ramps Up Hospice Survey Program and Consequences
Inflation Reduction Act’s Drug Price Negotiation Provisions – What Now? – Diagnosing Health Care Podcast
A Glimpse Into the Other Side: Understanding the Perspective of Government Enforcers
I Understood There Would Be No Math: Audits, Extrapolations, and a New Set of Rules
Podcast: Inflation Reduction Act’s Drug Price Negotiation Provisions – What’s Next? - Diagnosing Health Care
Quick Takeaways From the 2024 Proposed Hospice Wage Index Rule
Prior to the COVID-19 public health emergency (“PHE”), the federal Ryan Haight Act allowed a provider to prescribe controlled substance medications to a patient only after conducting an in-person evaluation of that patient...more
Healthcare systems are facing significant challenges in recruiting and retaining talent within the burgeoning field of behavioral health services, primarily due to competition from telehealth providers and inconsistent...more
Below is Alston & Bird’s Health Care Week in Review, which provides a synopsis of the latest news in health care regulations, notices, and guidance; federal legislation and congressional committee action; reports, studies,...more
Historically, a retail pharmacy unable to fill an initial electronic prescription for Schedule II-V controlled substances could not transfer it to another pharmacy – even if the two pharmacies were affiliated and part of a...more
On August 28, 2023, amendments to Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) regulation 21 CFR 1306.08 will go into effect, which amend the regulations allowing the transfer of initial electronic prescriptions for schedule II-V controlled...more
Nurse Pleads Guilty to Health Care Fraud, Distributing Controlled Substances - On May 9, 2023, an advanced practice registered nurse pleaded guilty to unlawfully distributing controlled substances and committing health...more
Medicare telehealth post-Public Health Emergency (PHE): With the COVID-19 PHE concluding on May 11, 2023, many of the telehealth flexibilities the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) implemented during the PHE will...more
During the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth utilization exploded. Globally, the telehealth market is valued at $83.5 billion and is expected to grow by 24% between 2023 and 2030. As services delivered via telehealth became more...more
Report on Medicare Compliance 30, no. 32 (September 13, 2021) - Saint Francis Medical Center in Missouri agreed to pay $1.625 million in a civil settlement of allegations it violated the Controlled Substances Act, the...more
The COVID-19 pandemic has created many new enforcement priorities for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). From selling ineffective personal protective equipment (PPE) to companies fraudulently seeking loan forgiveness under...more
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to demonstrate the importance and effectiveness of telemedicine as a means of providing patients with access to safe and quality medical care through the use of technology... Originally...more
On Tuesday, September 1, 2020, the Drug Enforcement Agency (“DEA”) proposed 2021 aggregate production quotas (APQs) for controlled substances in schedules I and II of the Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”) and an Assessment of...more
Editors’ Note: As COVID-19 rips through the country, an often-overlooked population at extraordinarily high risk is the nearly 2 million adults with opioid use disorder (OUD). This group faces a perfect storm of health and...more
Alex Azar, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), declared a public health emergency related to the coronavirus pandemic (“Emergency Declaration”) on January 31, 2020. ...more
This week in Washington: The House and Senate will be in recess the week of Feb. 17 in observation of Presidents Day....more
Alston & Bird’s Week in Review provides a synopsis of the latest news in health care regulations, notices, and guidance; federal legislation and Congressional committee action; reports, studies, and analyses; and other health...more
I. REGULATIONS, NOTICES, & GUIDANCE - On March 29, 2016, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule entitled, “Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Programs: Mental Health Parity and...more
I. REGULATIONS, NOTICES, & GUIDANCE - On March 24, 2016, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a guidance entitled, “Draft Guidance for Industry: General Principles for Evaluating the Abuse Deterrence of Generic...more
Providers have voiced opposition to a proposal aimed at targeting Medicare Part D enrollees with “potential opioid or acetaminophen overutilization issues that indicate the need to implement appropriate controls on these...more
In this issue: - Gear Up for Increased CMS Scrutiny of Hospice Services for Assisted Living Facility Residents - Happy New Year from the DC District Court - Companionship Exemption Lives On!! - DEA Rules On...more
After receiving many comments on its Draft Call Letter, CMS published its Contract Year 2014 Final Call Letter on April 1, 2013. The Final Call Letter addresses a wide variety of issues that will affect all parties involved...more