In Scheer v. Regents of the University of California, the Second District Court of Appeal held that the McDonnell-Douglas burden-shifting framework applies to claims asserted pursuant to Health & Safety Code Section 1278.5....more
- CMS estimates its proposal will result in a decrease of $320 million in Medicare Part A payments to skilled nursing facilities.
- CMS is seeking stakeholder input on the effects of direct-care staffing requirements for...more
On February 22, 2022, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced that vaccinated health care workers with documented recent infection will be allowed to defer booster shot by up to 90 days from...more
In Natarajan v. Dignity Health, the Supreme Court rejected a physician’s challenge to a peer review hearing officer based on alleged financial bias. In doing so, the Court gave hospitals helpful and long-needed guidance...more
By September 30, all hospital workers—including physicians—must be vaccinated.
As COVID-19’s Delta variant surges across California, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) again took action to help curtail the...more
8/10/2021
/ California ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deadlines ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Essential Workers ,
Exemptions ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
New Amendments ,
Physicians ,
Regulatory Mandates ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On July 29, 2021, the California Supreme Court issued a major anti-SLAPP decision in Bonni v. St. Joseph Health System et al. The decision is both encouraging and disappointing for California medical staffs and the hospitals...more
With COVID-19 rates again rising rapidly among unvaccinated individuals, California health care and government leaders are pushing to increase vaccination rates for healthcare workers in the state.
On July 26, 2021,...more
Click the link below for our complete analysis of recent updates to the Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute and their impact on health care providers.
...more
3/3/2021
/ 21st Century Cures Act ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Bonuses ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Commercially Reasonable Efforts ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Fair Market Value ,
Final Rules ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Medicare Part D ,
OIG ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Profit Sharing ,
Safe Harbors ,
Stark Law ,
Value-Based Care
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is working to dramatically increase the number of available vaccinators who may administer COVID-19 shots.
At a press briefing held on January 27, 2021, White House...more
Enrolling in such a CMS-sponsored innovation model now has an added benefit: a new Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) safe harbor.
...In its mission to reward value over volume, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS)...more
1/15/2021
/ ACOs ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
Medicaid ,
New Regulations ,
OIG ,
Payment Systems ,
Safe Harbors ,
Waivers
On September 24, 2020, the California Court of Appeal shed additional light on meeting the public interest requirements in anti-SLAPP motions in its opinion of Murray v. Tran (Cal. Ct. App., Sept. 24, 2020, No....more
Accredited organizations should begin to prepare for the resumption of survey activity in a modified form. Organizations that are experiencing a COVID-19 surge or have other challenges may want to reach out to the accrediting...more
The National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) recently confirmed that the deadlines for reporting adverse actions against licensees have not been extended, despite the COVID-19 emergency.
In its May 2020 “NPDB Insights”...more
The California Court of Appeal recently overturned a $13 million jury verdict against the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) in a gender discrimination lawsuit brought by a physician faculty member.
The decision...more
On April 17, 2020, the California Attorney General released Opinion No. 15-301, clarifying the deadlines for peer review bodies to file reports to certain licensing agencies pursuant to Business and Professions Code section...more
To address the COVID-19 national emergency, hospitals throughout the country are seeking to bolster their ranks of health care providers. Under the CMS Conditions of Participation, hospitals should have an emergency plan that...more
On March 16, 2020, the Joint Commission announced that it was suspending all regular surveying due to the COVID-19 national emergency, effective immediately. DNV GL Healthcare followed suit on March 19....more
On Tuesday, February 11, 2020, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a complaint against Yale New Haven Hospital alleging that the hospital’s Late Career Practitioner Policy violates both the Age Discrimination in...more
Natarajan addressed an important question: When may physicians who are the subject of a peer review hearing challenge the hearing officer in their cases on the ground that the hearing officer is biased?
We have published a...more
The case, Natarajan v. Dignity Health, attracted keen interest as the physician’s arguments, if adopted, would likely have disqualified numerous experienced hearing officers from service in California medical staff peer...more
In the latest fallout from a wide-ranging scandal, former USC gynecologist George Tyndall, who faces criminal charges for allegedly sexually abusing hundreds of students, has surrendered his medical license to the Medical...more
Does Anti-SLAPP protection apply to retaliation and discrimination cases? The answer is yes....more