K&L Gates Triage: An Insider’s Perspective on the Health Care Debate in Washington, DC
On January 17, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the CMS Interoperability and Prior Authorization final rule (Final Rule) (fact sheet, CMS’ interoperability website), which aims to improve prior...more
On December 6, the Biden administration released its Fall 2023 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. A unified agenda is issued in the spring and fall each year; it outlines federal agencies' areas of focus...more
Open enrollment is rapidly approaching for employers with calendar-year employee benefit plans. Following are ten important issues for employers to consider for the 2024 open enrollment season...more
Editor’s Note: In a new issue brief published by the Milbank Memorial Fund and summarized below, Manatt Health and leadership from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS) share insights into...more
We are pleased to present our annual End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we present our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. This Part 1 covers year-end health and welfare plan issues....more
Introduction - The COVID-19 pandemic catalyzed a dramatic rise in the use of telehealth nationwide to deliver services to individuals enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The federal...more
On July 20th, CMS issued an open letter to employers, plan sponsors and insurers requesting that they extend the normal 60-day special enrollment period for Medicaid and CHIP terminations of coverage....more
On May 10, 2023, HHS announced that many telehealth and teleprescribing flexibilities will remain in place after the end of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) on May 11, 2023. Congress extended many telehealth...more
Proposed Protections for Patient Data Related to Reproductive Care - On April 12, 2023, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) proposed a new rule to strengthen HIPAA...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently published the Advancing Interoperability and Improving Prior Authorization Processes Proposed Rule (Prior Authorization Proposed Rule), and, if certain components...more
The White House recently announced that the COVID-19 national emergency and public health emergency (PHE) declarations will end on May 11, 2023. These declarations have been in place since the beginning of the COVID-19...more
In January 2020, Alex M. Azar, II, then secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), signed a nationwide declaration of a Public Health Emergency (PHE) that would largely shape the response of public...more
We recognize that many companies sponsor ERISA welfare benefit plans and are currently undergoing their open enrollment process and issuing related participant communications. To assist with that process, we have prepared an...more
When COVID-19 was declared a Public Health Emergency (PHE), the Secretary of HHS was authorized to waive or modify certain Medicare, Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program, HIPAA, and EMTALA requirements. Many...more
On July 19, 2021, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) issued a Renewal of Determination that a Public Health Emergency Exists extending the federal COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) for another ninety...more
On July 19, 2021, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) renewed the declaration of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE), effective July 20, 2021. With this renewal, unless otherwise specified, any existing...more
After a six-month delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the first provisions of the interoperability rule issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) took effect on July 1. The new requirements are the first of...more
Only a few days remain before the enforcement delay that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) exercised due to COVID-19 will end and the agency will require certain payors to publish a Patient Access application...more
On October 2, 2020, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, Alex M. Azar II, announced the renewal of the public health emergency declaration due to the continued consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 90-day renewal...more
In times of emergency, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the "Secretary") has authority to issue temporary waivers or modifications of certain Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and HIPAA requirements. The Centers for...more
Updated Thursday, April 2, 2020- CMS 1135 waivers allow the U.S. Dep’t of Health and Human Services Secretary to temporarily waive or modify certain Medicare, Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Policy (CHIP), and Health...more
Responding to the Coronavirus public health emergency, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) has waived certain requirements of the Medicare, Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), including...more
As the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues to tick upward in the United States, administrative agencies are taking steps on a national scale to ensure that adequate healthcare items...more
On March 13, 2020, President Donald Trump issued a proclamation declaring a national emergency concerning the novel coronavirus disease (the “Emergency Declaration”). The president framed the emergency declaration as...more
As the coronavirus strain (COVID-19) continues to spread, the government, insurance companies and medical providers are rushing to find paths to more efficiently and effectively provide care for those in need. The Centers for...more