Medical Device Legal News with Sam Bernstein: Episode 19
Midyear Premium Increases and Cafeteria Plan Rules
K&L Gates Triage: An Insider’s Perspective on the Health Care Debate in Washington, DC
K&L Gates Triage: 340B Regulatory Update: CMS Proposal and Draft Executive Order Could Have Big Impact on 340B Program
Collaborating Before The PTAB
On April 8, 2024, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a long-awaited favorable Advisory Opinion (AO 24-02) for a charitable patient assistance program (PAP) focused on rare...more
The Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) recently released a favorable advisory opinion, OIG Advisory Opinion No. 24-02 (the “Opinion”) to a nonprofit organization that provides...more
August 16, 2023 marked the one-year anniversary of the enactment of the Inflation Reduction Act (“IRA”). The first 365 days since the IRA’s passage brought the implementation of a number of significant changes to the Medicare...more
Although most of the recent focus around the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act (“IRA”) by the press and industry stakeholders has been on the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program, the IRA has several other...more
Most of the recent focus around the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) by the press and the industry has been on the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program and its potential impact on manufacturers. But the...more
On February 1, 2023, the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Advance Notice of Methodological Changes for Calendar Year (CY) 2024 for Medicare Advantage (MA) Capitation Rates and Part C and D...more
This issue of McDermott’s Healthcare Regulatory Check-Up highlights significant activity between September 21 and October 20, 2022. We review several criminal and civil enforcement actions related to Anti-Kickback Statute...more
Patient assistance programs (PAPs) that seek to subsidize patient co-payments for drugs covered by Medicare may involve compliance challenges. A recent U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector...more
On October 5, 2022, OIG posted Advisory Opinion 22-19 in response to a nonprofit corporation’s (Requestor) request to analyze a proposal for certain pharmaceutical companies (each, the Funding Manufacturer) to subsidize: 1)...more
On October 5, 2022, the Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) posted Advisory Opinion No. 22-19 (the “Opinion”), which limits the ability of pharmaceutical manufacturers to offer cost-sharing subsidies to Medicare Part D (“Part...more
On October 5, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published Advisory Opinion No. 22-19, finding that a proposal by an entity funded entirely by manufacturers of oncology...more
On March 11, 2022, OIG issued Advisory Opinion No. 22-05 in which it responded to a request for an advisory opinion regarding a proposed subsidization of certain cost-sharing obligations in the context of a clinical trial...more
In Advisory Opinion No. 20-05, posted September 23, 2020, OIG was unwilling to approve a pharmaceutical company's proposed cost-sharing subsidy program for beneficiaries seeking to use its expensive new drug for treatment of...more
On September 18, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued an unfavorable Advisory Opinion, No. 20-05 (the Opinion), that a pharmaceutical manufacturer’s (Requestor) proposed...more
Although delayed as a result of the COVID-19 public health emergency, there are persistent and ongoing efforts to reform the Medicare Part D benefit. Since its June 2016 Report to Congress, the Medicare Payment Advisory...more
Over the past week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has made a number of announcements related to Medicare coverage in connection with the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Several of those announcements...more
As the number of coronavirus cases across the country continue to rise, CMS has issued several coronavirus-specific memorandums to healthcare providers and laboratories. In the past two weeks, CMS has issued disease-specific...more
On March 10, 2020 the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released a memo to Medicare Advantage Organizations and Part D Sponsors to inform them of their obligations and permissible flexibilities related to disasters and...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published the Contract Year 2021 and 2022 Policy and Technical Changes to the Medicare Advantage Program, Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Program, Medicaid Program,...more
Hospitals and Health Systems Prepare for a Value-Based Future - Editor’s Note: Hospitals and health systems are actively working to service their communities in numerous ways, including through the adoption of initiatives...more
Note: All fiscal estimates cited over a ten-year budget window refer to the Fiscal Year 2019-2028 budget window. The President's fiscal year 2019 (FY19) budget proposal for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)...more
Vaccination utilization among U.S. adults is low, and well below the Healthy People 2020 Targets, despite widespread availability of safe and effective vaccines and long-standing use recommendations by the Centers for Disease...more
On Jan. 4, 2018, the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued an open letter containing guidance regarding the provision of certain free drugs to federal healthcare program beneficiaries. Specifically, the OIG stated that...more
The rising cost of drugs in the U.S. is frequently in the news. So it is not surprising that in its contract year 2019 Proposed Medicare Advantage and Part D Regulations (Proposed Rule), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid...more
Lawmakers returning to Capitol Hill this week after the Thanksgiving recess face a daunting series of tax and budget deadlines that will set the stage for how Congress addresses year-end healthcare priorities. That...more