Podcast: Owner's Outlook: Renovating and Expanding Critical Access Hospitals in a Volatile Market - Diagnosing Health Care
K&L Gates Triage: 340B Eligibility - Hospital Covered Entities
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper declared a State of Emergency on September 25, 2024, due to the impending impact of Tropical Storm Helene (Helene). On September 28, 2024, a Federal Major Disaster Declaration (FEMA-4827-DR)...more
Recently, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”), and Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (“ONC”) announced the...more
Skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) owned or operated by hospitals (hospital-owned SNFs) have a demonstrated track record of delivering positive outcomes for post-acute care patients. Such success, however, has not been without...more
Research from Guidepoint Security found that 2023 saw an 80% increase in ransomware activity year-over-year, driven in part by multiple mass exploitation campaigns impacting hundreds of organizations. In total, the report...more
Reflecting on lessons learned and complaints received during the COVID-19 pandemic, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released detailed frequently asked questions (FAQs)...more
On December 27, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (“CMS”) of the Department of Health and Human Services created a new provider type for embattled rural and critical access hospitals (“CAHs”)—the Rural Emergency...more
In this episode of Triage, Andrew Ruskin, Darlene Davis, and Gabriel Scott discuss key provisions associated with conversion to CMS’s new rural emergency hospital provider type. They review the purpose of the new provider...more
Effective January 1, 2023, The Joint Commission (TJC) eliminated 168 (or 14%) of its accreditation standards across all of its accreditation programs and revised 14 other standards. To further streamline its standards, TJC is...more
On January 1, 2023, Medicare began paying for services provided at Rural Emergency Hospitals (REHs), a newly created provider type established to preserve access to emergency health care in rural areas and avert closure of...more
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) recently released new guidance about the process for converting to a Rural Emergency Hospital (“REH”) – a new Medicaid provider type effective Jan. 1, 2023. REHs are...more
Starting July 1, 2023, The Joint Commission (TJC) will set health equity as a National Patient Safety Goal for certain TJC-accredited organizations and roll out a new Health Care Equity certification program to recognize and...more
Beginning in 2023, Medicare will recognize a new provider type: the Rural Emergency Hospital (REH). The establishment of REHs is intended to preserve access to emergency departments and other outpatient services in rural...more
Over the last 12–24 months, Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) have seen steep cost escalation in their expansion and renovation plans, with expense increases exceeding 10 percent. Combined with nationwide staffing shortages,...more
The Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services (“CMS”) published the proposed rule for establishing Rural Emergency Hospitals on June 30, 2022. The federal assistance opportunities for these types of providers may prompt...more
Tucked into the recent proposed rule establishing Rural Emergency Hospital Conditions of Participation (CoPs) is a proposal to change the CoPs for critical access hospitals (CAHs). The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services...more
On June 30, 2022, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the long-awaited proposed rule establishing the Conditions of Participation (CoPs) that Rural Emergency Hospitals (REHs) would be required to meet...more
With the growth in telemedicine, Critical Access Hospitals have a renewed interest in exploring delegated credentialing. Several years ago, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) modified the conditions of...more
Hospitals across the country are questioning whether and how the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) requirements apply during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, CMS issued a list of Frequently Asked Questions...more
As part of sweeping exemptions aimed at facilitating all levels of healthcare during the coronavirus public health emergency, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has been issuing waivers for a wide range of...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) allotted a blanket waiver to critical access hospitals (CAHs) of certain Medicare certification requirements to aid their response to 2019 novel coronavirus disease...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) continues to issue frequent guidance to the healthcare industry, including guidance after receiving questions on fulfilling Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act...more
In a long anticipated regulation, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently updated the hospital, critical access hospital (CAH) and home health agency (HHA) conditions of participation related to the...more
Among the many provisions in the FY 2020 Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) proposed rule is one that would alter the supervision standards applicable to hospital outpatient therapeutic services. See 84 Fed. Reg....more
The display copy of the proposed rulemaking for the FY 2020 Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities Prospective Payment System (IPF PPS) was posted on the Federal Register website last week (the Proposed Rule). The IPF PPS pays...more
Beginning in 2018, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is commencing an annual “Call for Measures” initiative to allow interested parties (i.e., Medicare eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals...more