K&L Gates Triage: An Insider’s Perspective on the Health Care Debate in Washington, DC
Last week CMS issued its final rule “CMS Interoperability and Prior Authorization” (CMS-0057-F), unchanged from its proposed rule in 2022, which addresses prior authorizations. Prior authorization, a “utilization management”...more
On June 22, 2023, the US House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing titled “MACRA Checkup: Assessing Implementation and Challenges that Remain for...more
Prenatal vaccines provide important protection for pregnant women and newborns against communicable diseases such as whooping cough and influenza. However, fewer than one out of four pregnant women receives all federally...more
On January 31, 2020, pursuant to Section 319 of the Public Health Service Act, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) determined that a public health emergency (PHE) exists due to the soaring...more
Holland & Knight Health Dose is an in-depth weekly dose of legislative and regulatory insights to keep stakeholders abreast of happenings in Washington, D.C., impacting the health sector. This week's topics include ... ...more
A new California law (AB 1278) will require physicians and their employers to provide patients with several forms of notices about the Open Payments database, starting January 1, 2023. The law is intended to increase...more
CMS recently finalized the most significant changes to enrollment since the 2006 enrollment rules were initially adopted. Overview of the New Rule - In its "Program Integrity Enhancements to the Provider Enrollment...more
While most providers understand the need to bill Medicare correctly, many often fail to recognize the potentially disastrous results of not keeping Medicare informed of your correct and up-to-date practice information. A...more
On September 10, 2019, the US Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a final rule (Final Rule) expanding Medicare, Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program...more
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is launching new value-based programs with great fervor as a central strategy to bend the healthcare cost curve. Value-based reimbursement models linked to achieving the...more
The OIG added six new items to its Work Plan in the July 2018 update. Areas addressed include HHS cybersecurity vulnerabilities, increased payments for transfer claims with outliers, oversight of funds for Access Increases in...more
HOUSE OKs DOZENS OF OPIOID-RELATED BILLS; MORE VOTES SCHEDULED - The House last week approved 38 bills that lawmakers hope will stem the opioid epidemic, and it scheduled votes this week on at least a dozen more....more
More than 74 million individuals are enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Another 28 million are currently uninsured. Due to the repeal of the individual mandate (the requirement under the...more
• Congress amended current law to prevent CMS from applying the “MIPS” payment adjustment to separately billed items like drugs and biologics, which will drastically reduce the total amount of payment adjustments to clinical...more
Congress moved one step closer to avoiding a government shutdown on Feb. 6, voting overwhelmingly (245-182) to pass a short-term, GOP-backed government funding bill (text; section-by-section) that would keep the federal...more
On January 9, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a new voluntary bundled-payment demonstration program, also known as Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI) Advanced. The new model will test...more
On December 11, 2017, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a guidance entitled, Product Name Placement, Size, and Prominence in Promotional Labeling and Advertisements. The guidance clarifies the requirements for...more
On November 14, 2016, CMS published its final rule implementing the physician payment provisions of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (“MACRA”). The rule became effective January 1, 2017. Data collection from...more
ALERT: "No Contract" Disclaimer in Employee Handbook Upheld by Illinois CourtAuthor: Employee handbooks have long been a trap for the unwary employer that desires merely to establish a set of rules and policies without...more
The ancient Chinese curse – “May you live in interesting times” – certainly springs to mind these days. What does the election of Donald Trump mean for the healthcare industry, the Affordable Care Act and current healthcare...more
On September 16, 2016, approximately 112 congressional representatives submitted a letter to HHS Secretary Sylvia Matthews Burwell and CMS acting Administrator Andy Slavitt requesting that CMS not implement its proposal...more
McDermott’s Managing the Transition to Transformation series is designed to help health systems and other health care industry leaders address the many challenges presented by the transformation in payment and care delivery...more
The Acting CMS Administrator, Andy Slavitt, announced that CMS would propose new options for physician participation in the Quality Payment Program (QPP) under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA)....more
On April 25, 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), released the Medicaid managed care final rule entitled, “Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Programs; Medicaid Managed Care, CHIP...more
Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), both federal and state policies have promoted the adoption of alternative payment models (APMs), providing financial incentives for groups of providers to improve care...more