The Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (the OIG) recently released an updated General Compliance Program Guidance document (GCPG). The GCPG has been anticipated since the OIG...more
By looking at the events that have transpired since the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, which includes the No Surprises Act (the Act), was signed into law, it is clear that the Departments of Health and Human Services,...more
9/27/2023
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Medical Bills ,
No Surprises Act (NSA) ,
Out of Network Provider ,
Out-of-Pocket Expenses ,
Surprise Medical Bills ,
U.S. Treasury
Providers finally obtained court ordered relief to the $350 administrative fee each party was required to pay as part of the Federal Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) Process under the No Surprises Act. Until the...more
Comprehensive tort reform legislation was passed by the Florida Legislature on Thursday, March 23, 2023. By noon Friday, March 24, 2023, Governor Ron DeSantis signed the legislation, which was one of his pre-session...more
We are not surprised by the continued stop-and-go regarding guidance surrounding the No Surprises Act. Most recently, a Texas court vacated portions of the No Surprises Act’s updated final rule (the final rules were discussed...more
3/21/2023
/ Billing ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
No Surprises Act (NSA) ,
Out of Network Provider ,
Out-of-Pocket Expenses ,
Surprise Medical Bills ,
U.S. Treasury
The Departments of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services (the Departments) issued final rules related to the No Surprises Act on August 26, 2022, to be effective October 25, 2022 (Final Rules). These Final Rules...more
9/16/2022
/ Billing ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Final Rules ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
No Surprises Act (NSA) ,
Out of Network Provider ,
Out-of-Pocket Expenses ,
Surprise Medical Bills ,
U.S. Treasury
Given the trajectory, it is no longer surprising that the No Surprises Act (the Act) continues its turbulent path through implementation. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, on July 26, 2022, again...more
Employers who are conducting automatic COVID-19 testing of employees or gathering test results of employees’ families should beware: the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has issued new guidance limiting the...more
7/25/2022
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Popular ,
Screening Procedures ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
Healthcare breaches, including ransomware attacks, continue to increase. As a result, many healthcare organizations seeking cyber coverage to help defray the costs associated with a ransomware attack or other data incident...more
7/6/2022
/ Commercial Insurance Policies ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Insurance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
HIPAA Breach ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Industry ,
Popular ,
Ransomware
The No Surprises Act (the “Act”) continues muddling through its implementation period. We have discussed the Act in prior posts, and most recently on March 8, 2022. The surprises have continued, with new updates coming out...more
The No Surprises Act (the Act) continues to bump through its initial implementation phase. As we discussed in our prior blog, out-of-network physicians and facilities (OON Providers), and their allies, are pushing back...more
It may seem as though the pandemic is coming to an end, but while COVID cases are declining, they have not ceased. As the pandemic continues, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights issued...more
Florida is continuing its efforts to improve patient safety in hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs). The Florida Legislature previously approved a requirement that hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs)...more
2/2/2022
/ Ambulatory Surgery Centers ,
Florida ,
Health & Safety Standard ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Hospitals ,
Patient Safety ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Surgical Center Requirements ,
Surveys
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) recently published an infographic to help Medicare and Medicaid facilities and providers determine if they or some members of their workforce are subject to the Omnibus...more
Effective January 1, 2022, new billing protections went into effect that have the goal of providing greater protections for patients against surprise medical bills. As we discussed in our prior blog, the Departments of Health...more
Efforts to stop surprise medical costs are continuing to evolve. The Departments of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), Labor, and Treasury (collectively, the “Departments”), and the Office of Personnel Management issued an...more
Before closing its 2021 session, the Florida Legislature passed several bills that impact health care.
The first bill discussed below regarding civil liability became effective on March 29, 2021. The majority of the other...more
7/16/2021
/ Civil Liability ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Emergency Rooms ,
Florida ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Medical Examinations ,
New Legislation ,
Pain Management ,
Personal Care Assistants ,
Vaccinations
The Florida medical community was left concerned and confused by the passage of the original 2020 pelvic examination law. As we discussed in our past blog, practitioners believed the law was overly burdensome, and they were...more
At first glance, it appeared that hospitals were complying with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) price transparency requirement, which became effective January 1, 2021. Upon a closer look; however, multiple...more
Cyberattacks against healthcare providers accounted for 79% of all reported data breaches in 2020. (See here). The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and...more
3/23/2021
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Electronic Medical Records ,
Hackers ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Information Technologies ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Breach ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
PHI ,
Risk Management
The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) continues to take seriously all allegations of violations of the HIPAA right of access to patient medical records. As discussed in a previous blog, the OCR is enforcing patient rights by...more
Physicians at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit made a “stunning” heart-altering discovery. New and improved magnets in the iPhone 12 (“12”) may cause heart defibrillators and pacemakers to malfunction, particularly when carried...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has sent a clear message to states and providers: they already have the tools to improve healthcare. Through a combination of value-based arrangements and already existing...more
Hospitals that are not ready for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) new transparency requirement must act quickly. CMS has advised that the new year will begin with new auditing and monitoring of these...more
There has been a longstanding and regrettable practice in the healthcare industry of pharmaceutical and medical device companies giving physicians gifts as illegal inducements. Concerned about this continued trend, the U.S....more