In a new set of Frequently Asked Questions, the U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury provide significant relief to health plan sponsors and insurers seeking to report on expenditures for...more
Revisions to preventive care and screening guidelines will require health plans and health insurance policies to provide 100 percent coverage for additional services for women, adolescents, children, and infants, following an...more
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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
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Federal agencies will enforce Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The announcement reverses an effort under the previous...more
The Office of Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has issued guidance clarifying how HIPAA’s Privacy Rule permits covered entities (in particular, health care providers and health plans) or their...more
8/28/2020
/ Business Associates ,
Covered Entities ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Privacy Rule ,
OCR ,
PHI
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
The Office of Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, issued an update to its February bulletin, which outlined how the HIPAA privacy rules apply in a state of emergency....more
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
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released two proposed rules restructuring the Physician Self-Referral...more
10/18/2019
/ ACOs ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
OIG ,
Physician Fee Schedule ,
Physicians ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Safe Harbors ,
Stark Law ,
Value-Based Care
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has finalized regulations designed to help stabilize the individual and small group health insurance markets and, in particular, the health insurance exchanges...more
Changes are imminent for the Affordable Care Act and a range of other laws and regulations affecting the health care industry. Ballard Spahr attorneys established a Health Care Reform Initiative in 2008 to monitor and analyze...more
1/20/2017
/ AARP ,
Abortion ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Age Discrimination ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Birth Control ,
Claim Procedures ,
COBRA ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disability Benefits ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Discrimination ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Form 1094 ,
Form 1095 ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
HRA ,
IRS ,
National Origin Discrimination ,
Public Health Insurance Marketplace ,
Religious Exemption ,
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Section 1557 ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title IX ,
Trump Administration ,
Wellness Programs ,
Women's Preventable Healthcare Mandates
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency within the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, recently issued a final rule prohibiting nursing homes and other long-term care facilities from utilizing...more
11/9/2016
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Binding Arbitration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Contract Terms ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
Long-Term Care ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Nursing Homes ,
Skilled Nursing Facility
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency within the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, has issued a final rule that includes prohibiting nursing homes and other long-term care facilities from...more
10/3/2016
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Binding Arbitration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Contract Terms ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
Long-Term Care ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Nursing Homes ,
Preemption ,
Skilled Nursing Facility
The U.S. Departments of Treasury, Labor (DOL) and Health and Human Services (HHS) have issued interim final regulations and Frequently Asked Questions and Answers on the cost-free coverage of preventive services under the...more
8/3/2015
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Burwell v Hobby Lobby ,
Closely Held Businesses ,
Contraceptive Coverage Mandate ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Hobby Lobby ,
Preventive Health Care ,
Privately Held Corporations ,
Religious Institutions ,
U.S. Treasury
The U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury have jointly issued a new set of FAQs that clarifies the application of the rules establishing cost-sharing limits. For 2016, non-grandfathered group...more
Recent guidance issued jointly by the U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury clarifies how the Affordable Care Act's requirement to provide cost-free coverage for preventive care applies to...more
In response to the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, Inc., the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Labor (DOL) published proposed rules on August 22, 2014, expanding the...more
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for the Department of Health and Human Services recently issued a Special Fraud Alert regarding laboratory payments to referring physicians. The Special Fraud Alert reaffirms OIG’s...more
In a wide-ranging set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) and other guidance, the U.S. Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services have addressed a number of issues pertaining to the Affordable Care Act...more
5/8/2014
/ Affordable Care Act ,
CHIPRA ,
COBRA ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
FSA ,
Healthcare ,
Preventive Health Care ,
U.S. Treasury
Before departing for the 2013 Thanksgiving holiday, the Obama administration released several new regulatory announcements and guidance relating to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The new guidance delays...more
The Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Department of Labor, and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have jointly released final regulations and new FAQs implementing the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health...more
The U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury recently released final regulations on the exemption from providing coverage for contraceptive and certain other preventive services that is available to...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has issued final regulations and a set of frequently asked questions and answers establishing standards for the provision of essential health benefits in the individual and...more
The U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services and Treasury have released proposed regulations, a fact sheet, and a press release on the Affordable Care Act contraceptives coverage under Women's Preventive Health Services...more