On May 8, 2023, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed new restrictions into law for health care providers that utilize resources outside the U.S. While the majority of the new law affects the real estate industry in Florida, it...more
We want to make health care providers with 100 or more employees aware that, on December 27, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced the expiration of its June 2021 Emergency Temporary...more
As health care organizations are generally aware, most regulatory requirements related to the federal No Surprises Act apply beginning January 1, 2022. These surprise billing regulations implement a number of new patient...more
On June 10, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued its long-awaited COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). A notable feature of the ETS, in addition to the timing of its issuance over a...more
7/2/2021
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Training ,
Employment Policies ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Care Providers ,
Masks ,
OSHA ,
Social Distancing ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
Many health care providers are generally aware that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently implemented major changes to the Stark Law regulations. Most of the changes are already in effect. However,...more
Recent regulatory and enforcement developments in the area of access to patient information create significant new risks for radiology providers.
In particular, imaging providers should pay close attention to these...more
3/31/2021
/ 21st Century Cures Act ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Information Blocking Rules ,
New Regulations ,
OCR ,
Patients ,
Personal Data ,
Right of Access ,
Sensitive Personal Information
Congress voted last night to approve a $900 billion COVID-19 stimulus package that includes key measures for health care providers. President Trump has indicated he will sign the new legislation once it reaches his desk....more
This week the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a Joint Cybersecurity Advisory warning of...more
11/2/2020
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
FBI ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
Personal Information ,
Phishing Scams ,
Ransomware
Two major recent regulatory developments highlight the need for health care organizations to focus on compliance concerning requests for access to patient health information.
HIPAA Right of Access Initiative
As most...more
Yesterday (August 13), while in special session ordered by Gov. Bill Lee, the Tennessee General Assembly overwhelmingly passed an amended version of HB8002, which significantly enhances telehealth flexibility and payment...more
On May 12, 2020, Gov. Brian Kemp issued Executive Order No. 05.12.20.02, which contains a section specific to health care businesses and practitioners (Section VI). Although the provisions of this section are in part a...more
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp issued two executive orders this week designed to facilitate the incremental reopening of Georgia businesses. Georgia’s Public Health State of Emergency remains in place in the near term, although...more
Late on April 16, 2020, the SBA announced that its Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was out of funding and the agency would not be accepting any more applications for the $349 billion program. This left many small business...more
As health care providers across the country take steps to initiate or increase use of telehealth to provide patient care while complying with “social distancing” or “shelter in place” directives, federal and state...more
On March 26, 2020, Gov. Bill Lee issued Executive Order No. 20 amending previous Executive Order No. 15, which significantly modified various licensing and other entry barriers to providing care amidst the COVID-19 crisis....more
Since the major HIPAA overhaul implemented in 2013, there have been few changes to HIPAA privacy, security, and breach notification regulations. However, several HIPAA regulatory changes may now be on the way...more
7/16/2018
/ Accounting ,
Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Electronic Medical Records ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare Reform ,
HITECH Act ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Trump Administration
Texting by physicians and other health care providers has long been a hot topic due to the privacy and security considerations involved, although HIPAA and state laws have generally been at the center of this discussion....more
2/5/2018
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Conditions of Participation (CoP) ,
Data Protection ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Medicaid ,
Medical Records ,
Medicare ,
Patient Privacy Rights ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Text Messages ,
Texting
Due to recent TennCare changes, health care providers not registered with TennCare should consider registering to avoid issues in prescribing for TennCare patients and to preserve TennCare revenue. ...more
It has now been a number of years since the enactment of Section 6402(a) of the Affordable Care Act ("ACA"), which requires among other things that any recipient of a Medicare or Medicaid overpayment report and return it...more
Recent settlements and initiatives conducted by the Office for Civil Rights ("OCR") at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services highlight the continuing need for focus on compliance with the privacy and security...more
Businesses in the State of Tennessee should take note of several significant changes to Tennessee's data breach statute that take effect for data breaches occurring on or after July 1, 2016.
Currently, Tennessee Code...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (the "OIG") recently issued a rare fraud alert warning physicians to ensure that their compensation arrangements, such as medical directorships,...more