The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced the release of updated model signage for use by Medicare-participating hospitals to inform patients of their rights under the Emergency Medical Treatment...more
This issue of McDermott’s Healthcare Regulatory Check-Up highlights regulatory activity for June 2024. We discuss several US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) agency actions, including guidance regarding hospital...more
8/1/2024
/ AIDS ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
HIV ,
Hospitals ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part B ,
MIPS ,
OIG ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacies ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Stark Law
As we previously advised, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is preparing to issue a national coverage determination (NCD) for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) using antiretroviral drugs to prevent HIV under...more
On April 15, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a fact sheet on the potential national coverage determination (NCD) for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) using antiretroviral drugs to prevent HIV. CMS...more
On November 17, 2023, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a final rule requiring nursing facilities participating in Medicaid and skilled nursing facilities participating in Medicare to disclose...more
12/11/2023
/ Business Ownership ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Final Rules ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Mortgage REITS ,
Private Equity ,
Skilled Nursing Facility
In February 2022, US President Joseph Biden announced an overhaul of regulations affecting nursing homes. These reforms, aimed at enhancing the safety and quality of care for nursing-home residents, focus on improving...more
On April 20, 2023, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) made ownership data of all Medicare-certified hospices and home health agencies publicly available for the first time. This move is consistent with the...more
Following the Biden administration’s efforts to promote nursing home safety, transparency, accountability and quality, the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a proposed rule governing nursing home...more
3/31/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Data Reporting ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Medicare ,
New Rules ,
Nursing Homes ,
REIT ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Skilled Nursing Facility ,
Transparency
In connection with the Biden-Harris administration’s stated goals of improving safety, transparency, accountability and quality in nursing homes, the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have announced new...more
Starting July 1, 2023, The Joint Commission (TJC) will set health equity as a National Patient Safety Goal for certain TJC-accredited organizations and roll out a new Health Care Equity certification program to recognize and...more
2/1/2023
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Ambulatory Surgery Centers ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Certifications ,
Critical Access Hospitals ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
Mental Health ,
Patients ,
Proposed Rules ,
The Joint Commission
This special inaugural issue of McDermott’s Healthcare Regulatory Check-Up highlights noticeable enforcement activity, OIG regulatory developments, CMS regulatory developments and other key developments for healthcare...more
5/26/2022
/ Advisory Opinions ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Nursing Home Reform Act (FNHRA) ,
Global Code of Ethics ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
OIG ,
Regulatory Agenda
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently published detailed databases summarizing changes of ownership of Medicare-enrolled hospitals and skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). The databases currently include...more
4/28/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Competition ,
Hospitals ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
Nursing Homes ,
Payment Systems ,
Proposed Rules ,
Rate Parity Agreement ,
Skilled Nursing Facility ,
Transparency ,
Value-Based Purchasing
On February 28, 2022, the White House issued a fact sheet outlining several efforts aimed to increase safety, accountability, oversight and transparency in the senior services industry (Fact Sheet). Although the Fact Sheet’s...more
3/14/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
Medicare ,
Nursing Homes ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Skilled Nursing Facility
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published an interim final rule with comment period (IFR) on November 5, 2021, that implements the Biden administration’s previously announced vaccine mandate for...more
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) notified state survey agency directors that it has lifted previously imposed hospital survey suspensions and resumed routine hospital reaccreditation and recertification...more
Since the early stages of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, long term care facilities (LTCFs) have been an epicenter of transmission. Medicare Requirements for Participation for LTCFs include an obligation to establish and...more
6/9/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
Medicare ,
Nursing Homes ,
Quality Control Plan ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Safety and Oversight Group (QSO) ,
Surveys
As previously reported, President Trump’s Opening Up America plans introduce measures to slowly ease business and social restrictions and require enhanced testing and reporting of Coronavirus (COVID-19) incidences in long...more
Long-term care facilities, including nursing homes, (collectively, LTCF) have been a hot spot for the transmission of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). In an effort to balance quality, transparency and infection...more
On April 19, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a Quality, Safety and Oversight Group (QSO) memorandum (QSO-20-26-NH) informing long term care facilities, including nursing homes, about certain...more
On March 30, 2020, CMS issued QSO-20-15-REVISED, which updated and expanded the guidance provided in its original QSO-20-15 memorandum issued March 9, 2020, as further described in the On the Subject appended below....more
On March 30, 2020, CMS issued updates to its prior QSO memorandum, expanding its infection control and prevention guidance to include hospitals, critical access hospitals and psychiatric hospitals. The updated QSO memorandum...more
4/1/2020
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Hospitals ,
Medicare ,
Mental Health ,
OCR ,
Psychiatric Hospitals ,
Public Access Laws ,
Public Health ,
Quarantine ,
Relief Measures ,
Telemedicine ,
Waivers
On March 30, 2020, CMS issued updates to its March 9, 2020, memo from the Quality Safety and Oversight (QSO) Group on controlling and preventing the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in dialysis facilities and other...more
4/1/2020
/ Best Practices ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dialysis Providers ,
Emergency Response ,
Health Care Providers ,
Home Health Care ,
Hospice ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Nursing Homes ,
Risk Management ,
State of Emergency
On March 30, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a Quality, Safety & Oversight Group (QSO) memorandum (QSO-20-22-ASC, CORF, CMHC, OPT, RHC/FQHCs) addressing standards for infection control and...more
4/1/2020
/ Ambulatory Surgery Centers ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Community Care Program ,
Community Health Systems ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Clinics ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Hospitals ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Outpatient Services ,
Quality Assurance Programs
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has temporarily modified certain operational and regulatory requirements that may help Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) certified laboratories adapt their...more
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released Quality, Safety & Oversight Group (QSO) standards for infection control and prevention of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in nursing facilities,...more
3/16/2020
/ Best Practices ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dialysis Providers ,
Emergency Response ,
Health Care Providers ,
Home Health Care ,
Hospice ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Nursing Homes ,
Risk Management ,
State of Emergency