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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
The Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services (CMS) recently released the 2021 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) Final Rule. The PFS Final Rule is scheduled to be published on December 28, 2020, but an unpublished version may be accessed here. CMS has also issued a fact sheet, which overviews the…
On November 20, 2020, in a joint effort, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued final rules to revise and modernize the Physician Self-Referral Law (“Stark Law”), Anti-Kickback Statute (“AKS”) and Civil Monetary Penalties…