In an effort to combat the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), the Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) developed the Uninsured Program to provide claims reimbursement to health care providers for: (1) testing uninsured individuals for COVID-19; (2) treating uninsured individuals with COVID-19; and (3) administering COVID-19 vaccinations to uninsured individuals. The Health Resources […]
On February 23, 2022, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Tyler Division, issued a Memorandum Opinion and Order,[1] which served to strike down certain portions of the federal No Surprises Act (“NSA”) related to the independent dispute resolution (“IDR”) process for resolving payment disputes between out-of-network providers and group health […]
As of January 15, 2022, to increase access to free testing for many Americans, the Biden-Harris Administration has required private insurance companies and group health plans to cover over-the-counter COVID-19 tests approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Consumers of over-the-counter COVID-19 tests will be paid either up front, or be reimbursed after […]
In June 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) issued an Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) that would require, amongst other things, employers with 100 or more employees to adopt a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy. OSHA’s mandatory vaccination policy would affect approximately 84 million employees. An overview of the OSHA Vaccine Policy requirements can be […]
On November 8, 2021, the Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) issued multiple updates to the Health Care Fraud Self-Disclosure Protocol (“SDP”), incorporating legal changes made since the previous SDP revision in 2013. The OIG’s updated SDP may be accessed here. Below is an overview of the updates. By way of brief background, the SDP provides […]
Recently, the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), Dept. of Labor, Dept. of Treasury, and the Office of Personal Management jointly issued an interim final rule regarding surprise medical billing. The interim final rule, entitled “Requirements Related to Surprise Billing: Part 1” (the “Rule”) may be accessed here, and will go into effect […]
President Biden recently signed the Act to Prevent Across-the-Board Direct Spending Cuts, and for Other Purposes (the “Act”) (available here) into law. The Act extends the temporary suspension of certain mandatory Medicare FFS claim payment reductions until December 31, 2021. By way of background, the Budget Control Act of 2011 required mandatory across-the-board reductions to […]
On April 13, 2021, the American Bar Association (ABA) Health Law Section Nominating Committee announced its slate of Officers and Council members for FY 2022. The HLP is honored that two of our founding shareholders are included on this slate. The HLP congratulates Adrienne Dresevic on her nomination to serve as Vice Chair of the […]
On January 15, 2021, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) issued updated guidance on reporting requirements related to use of Provider Relief Fund (“PRF”) monies. HHS will be issuing further updates, which will impact how providers are required to report and whether providers will be allowed to retain all of the PRF monies […]
The Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services (CMS) recently released the 2021 Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) Final Rule, which may be accessed here. Significantly, the Final Rule contains policy changes by CMS that are intended to provide Medicare patients and their physicians greater choices in the outpatient setting at […]
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