In this episode, AGG Healthcare attorneys Lisa Churvis and Alan Horowitz discuss critical aspects of nursing home staffing requirements. Lisa and Alan delve into the implications of recent legislative proposals and regulatory...more
On October 18, 2023, AGG Healthcare of counsel Jennifer Hilliard ably reported on Georgia’s new regulation that would allow pharmacies to dispense medical marijuana to registered users. Thus, Georgia became the first state in...more
AGG’s Home Health & Hospice team publishes a quarterly newsletter covering legal and regulatory topics specific to the home and community-based healthcare industry. The fields of end-of-life and home healthcare present...more
Background - In August 2013, Avon Nursing and Rehabilitation (“Avon”) notified the New York State Department of Health (“NYSDOH”) that a resident sustained a burn when she spilled a bowl of soup. The NYSDOH then conducted an...more
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) is responsible for regulating and overseeing skilled nursing facilities (“SNFs”) that participate in the Medicare and/or Medicaid programs. To ensure that SNFs are in...more
Background - This is the story of Life Care Center – Kirkland (LCCK), a skilled nursing facility (SNF) located in Kirkland, Washington. LCCK was the “index facility,” meaning it was the first known nursing facility in the...more
On October 6, 2021, California Governor Newson signed Assembly Bill No. 749, which, among other things, established minimum training requirements for medical directors of skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). There was...more
On June 1, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a memorandum to all State survey agency (SSA) directors announcing its “enhanced enforcement for infection control deficiencies” in nursing homes....more
On April 19, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published a Quality, Safety and Oversight Group (QSO) memorandum to all State Survey Agency Directors. In that memorandum, CMS notes that it plans to...more
Until a few months ago, nursing homes were required under federal law to permit almost unfettered visits for their residents. Then, the world changed as an invisible tsunami swept over the globe. One of the first signs of the...more
On November 20, 2019, the House Judiciary Committee passed the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act of 2019. The historic bill was sponsored by House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and can...more
On July 18, 2019, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published a proposed rule that, among other significant changes, would improve the informal dispute resolution (IDR) and the independent informal dispute...more
On November 20, 2018, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a new program designed to improve nursing home residents’ safety and quality. ...more
On September 5, 2018, in Noffsinger v. SSC Niantic Operating Co., LLC, a federal district court in Connecticut sided with a plaintiff who sued a nursing home that refused to hire her because she used medical marijuana as...more
On October 27, 2017, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a draft Survey and Certification Memo (S & C Memo) in which it announced its intention to reverse a previous policy regarding “immediate...more
During its most recent session, the Georgia legislature passed SB16, expanding Georgia’s Medical Cannabis Bill, “Haleigh’s Hope Act” (the “Act”), which legalized the possession of low THC oil for individuals with certain...more
On October 4, 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule which represents the most sweeping changes in twenty-five years regarding the requirements for participation for long-term care (LTC)...more
On March 16, 2000, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) promulgated a Final Rule, in part instructing the federally contracted Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network/Unit Network for Organ Sharing...more
On September 6, 2016, the Department of Health and Human Services published an interim final rule which became effective immediately. The new regulation adjusts for inflation the maximum civil monetary penalty (CMP) amounts...more
On August 16, 2016, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rebuked the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) in United States v. McIntosh, a case that involves the tension between federal and state laws involving...more
Last week, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama handed the Department of Justice (DOJ) a significant defeat by dismissing a False Claims Act (FCA) case against AseraCare, a national hospice...more
On November 3, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a Proposed Rule that would revise the discharge planning conditions of participation (CoPs) for Hospitals, Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), and Home...more
On October 27, 2015, United States District Judge James S. Moody, Jr. extended a stay of proceedings thereby permitting Bayou Shores SNF, LLC (“Bayou Shores”) to remain viable and continue receiving Medicare and Medicaid...more