On January 6, 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) to amend the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act...more
1/14/2025
/ Comment Period ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Security ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
HIPAA Security Rule ,
NPRM ,
OCR ,
Patient Privacy Rights ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Risk Management
Pennsylvania’s new Fair Contracting for Health Care Practitioners Act limits the use of certain restrictive covenants between employers and health care workers and imposes heightened patient notice obligations on applicable...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) continues to enforce and update its Health Breach Notification Rule (HBNR) amidst a fast-changing regulatory environment. A new rule, which took effect this week, expands the scope of the...more
8/2/2024
/ Breach Notification Rule ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
PHI
A final federal rule raising minimum staffing requirements for long-term care (LTC) facilities that receive Medicare or Medicaid funding becomes effective June 21, starting a staggered timeline for LTCs to create and...more
Newly effective regulations governing confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder (SUD) records now more closely mirror regulations implementing the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and other...more
Summary -
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently published a proposed rule that, if finalized, will provide new minimum staffing level requirements for all long-term care facilities reimbursed by...more
In this episode, we discuss the current trend in the health care industry regarding the development of micro-hospitals, especially in certain rural areas. We explain what a micro-hospital is (and is not), the drivers behind...more
Summary -
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a proposed rule (Proposed Rule) intended to require additional disclosures related to the ownership and management of nursing facilities that accept...more
Summary -
CMS has announced it is engaging in a new series of audits intended to address the agency’s concern that nursing homes could be miscoding schizophrenia to reduce their reported rates of antipsychotic use, and...more
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The Pennsylvania Department of Health on July 31, 2021, began overhauling the Commonwealth’s long-term care nursing facility regulations via four sets of proposed regulations. On December 24, 2022, the Department...more
Summary -
The Pennsylvania Department of Health last year began overhauling the Commonwealth’s long-term care nursing facility regulations. On May 28, 2022, the Department of Health published the fourth and final set of...more
Summary -
The Pennsylvania Department of Health last year began overhauling the Commonwealth’s long-term care nursing facility regulations, with regulatory changes to be implemented in four parts. The Department of Health...more
Summary -
The Pennsylvania Department of Health recently published the second of an expected five sets of proposed changes to the Commonwealth’s long-term care nursing facility regulations. The regulatory overhaul began...more
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On July 31, 2021, the Pennsylvania Department of Health officially began its first overhaul of the Commonwealth’s long-term care nursing facility regulations since 1999. The regulatory changes will be implemented...more
On August 12, 2021, the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina issued an opinion denying in part and granting in part a motion by Blackbaud to dismiss seven statutory claims brought by plaintiffs in a...more
Summary -
The U.S. Departments of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services, along with the federal Office of Personnel Management have issued interim final regulation under the No Surprises Act aimed at...more
The incremental adoption of telehealth services exploded at the onset of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), establishing telehealth as an integral tool for patient care....more
Summary -
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law legislation that restores property tax exemptions for nonprofit hospitals. However, the law requires New Jersey nonprofit hospitals to make a community service...more
The new year began with an unusual amount of activity related to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Health care providers, health plans, health care clearinghouses, and business associates...more
On December 18, 2020, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) issued guidance specific to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) and...more
On July 23, 2020, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf approved 2020 Act 71, enacting House Bill 2484. The new law amends the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, Titles 15 (Corporations and Unincorporated Associations) and 20...more
On March 20, 2020, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued guidance in furtherance of its Notification of Enforcement Discretion for Telehealth Remote Communications During the COVID-19 Nationwide Public Health Emergency. ...more
Telehealth Remote Communication Technology -
On March 17, 2020, the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) will suspend enforcement activities and waive...more
3/19/2020
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
HIPAA Security Rule ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
OCR ,
Patient Privacy Rights ,
Relief Measures ,
Telehealth ,
Waivers
Federal executive agencies recently published two rules, one final and one proposed, aimed at publicizing the various costs associated with health care. A final rule, promulgated by the Department of Health and Human Services...more
12/4/2019
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Comment Period ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Final Rules ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Hospitals ,
Medical Expenses ,
Medical Loss Ratio ,
MLR Rebate ,
Out of Network Provider ,
Price Transparency ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Surprise Medical Bills ,
Trump Administration