News Briefs - HHS Drops Appeal of Court's Ruling in Hospital Web Tracking Case - The Department of Health and Human Services is dropping its appeal of a June U.S. District Court ruling that vacated the government's...more
9/11/2024
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Medical Devices ,
Medicare ,
Physicians ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Rural Health Care Providers ,
Telehealth ,
Web Tracking
News Briefs - Statistics Show Upward Trend in Healthcare Data Breaches - Healthcare data breach statistics clearly show there has been an upward trend in data breaches over the past 14 years, with 2021 seeing more data...more
9/4/2024
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Data Breach ,
Drug Pricing ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Hospice ,
Hospitals ,
HRSA ,
Medical Devices ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Surprise Medical Bills
News Briefs - Physicians Responsible for Meeting CMS Information Blocking Rules - The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology issued a final rule that...more
8/29/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Information Technologies ,
Healthcare ,
Hospice ,
Hospitals ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
Nursing Homes ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Physicians ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Telehealth
News Briefs - State Governments Taking Steps to Make Rules on Healthcare AI - In the absence of federal guardrails on artificial intelligence in healthcare, state governments are figuring out their own rules of the road....more
8/21/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Drug Pricing ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Hospitals ,
Medical Devices ,
Medicare ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Private Equity ,
Rural Health Care Providers ,
Surprise Medical Bills
News Briefs - CMS Increases Acute Care Inpatient Hospital Payments by $2.9B - HHS has finalized the fiscal year 2025 Inpatient Prospective Payment System and Long-Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System rule. The rule...more
8/13/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Data Breach ,
Elder Care ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Home Health Care ,
Hospitals ,
Nursing Homes ,
Physicians ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Urgent Care Facilities
News Briefs - Joint Employer Rule Withdrawn by National Labor Relations Board - The National Labor Relations Board withdrew its appeal of a district court ruling that enjoined its "joint employer" final rule....more
8/5/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Cybersecurity ,
Digital Health ,
Electronic Medical Records ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hospitals ,
Labor Shortage ,
NLRB ,
Nursing Homes ,
Ransomware ,
Risk Management ,
Telehealth
AGG’s Government Investigations Team Insights provides periodic updates covering legal and regulatory topics. Our team, which includes former federal prosecutors, SEC enforcement attorneys, and federal agency attorneys, has...more
7/23/2024
/ Administrative Authority ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Drug Trafficking ,
Expert Testimony ,
Expert Witness ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Fraud ,
Government Agencies ,
Government Investigations ,
Health Care Providers ,
Jury Trial ,
Medicare ,
Qui Tam ,
Regulatory Authority ,
SCOTUS ,
SEC v Jarkesy ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Statutory Authority ,
Whistleblowers
News Briefs - High Court Ruling on Chevron Doctrine Could Impact Health Credit - When the Supreme Court overturned the Chevron doctrine on June 28, it ended the mandate that federal courts should defer to federal agencies'...more
7/19/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Hospitals ,
Investment ,
Labor Shortage ,
Nursing Homes ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Physicians ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Private Equity
News Briefs - Texas Federal Court Ruling Puts Noncompete Ban on Hold - A Texas federal court issued a preliminary injunction against the Federal Trade Commission's noncompete ban, which if implemented would allow existing...more
7/12/2024
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Hospice ,
Hospitals ,
Medical Devices ,
Medicare ,
Nursing Homes ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Shared Savings Program
News Briefs - Survey Finds Decline in Telehealth Use Across Most Groups in 2022 - The percentage of adults who used telehealth in the past year dropped from 37 percent in 2021 to 30.1 percent in 2022, with declines observed...more
7/1/2024
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hospice ,
Hospitals ,
Nursing Homes ,
Ransomware ,
Telehealth
News Briefs - New Foreign Nurse Visas Frozen by State Department - The State Department has essentially frozen foreign nurse visas for the rest of the fiscal year amid high demand, and health groups are warning it threatens...more
6/28/2024
/ Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Foreign Workers ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hospitals ,
Labor Shortage ,
Medicare ,
Nurses ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacies ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Telemedicine ,
Visas
If you know, you know. The government’s less familiar version — if most know, the defendant knows — just got a boost from the Supreme Court of the United States, which recently held that Federal Rule of Evidence 704(b) did...more
News Briefs - Lawmakers Boosting Investigation of P.E. Role in Healthcare - Influential U.S. Senators are the latest to launch investigations into private equity's increasing role in owning and operating everything from...more
6/25/2024
/ Cybersecurity ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hospitals ,
Nurses ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Private Equity ,
Rural Health Care Providers ,
Section 340B
News Briefs - Hospital Lobbies Join Attempt to Delay Noncompete Ban -Hospital lobbies have signed on to a multisector letter of 230 industry associations and chambers of commerce urging the Federal Trade Commission to bump...more
6/18/2024
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Security ,
Digital Health ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Home Health Care ,
Hospice ,
Hospitals ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Ransomware ,
Telehealth
News Briefs - Appeals Court Rules Drug Firms Can Limit 340B Discounted Drugs - An appeals court has upheld a lower court ruling on 340B that sided with drug manufacturers. At issue is whether pharmaceutical companies can...more
6/4/2024
/ Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hospice ,
Hospital Mergers ,
Hospitals ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
Nursing Homes ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Section 340B
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently considered a district court’s nearly $6 million judgment in a qui tam False Claims Act (“FCA”) suit based on Anti-Kickback Statute (“AKS”) violations. The...more
News Briefs - Biden Places New Tariffs on Chinese Medtech Product Imports - The Biden administration announced its plan to increase tariffs on Chinese-made medical supplies as part of a broader push to tax imports from the...more
5/30/2024
/ Biotechnology ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hospice ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
Medical Supplies ,
Nursing Homes ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Physicians ,
Telehealth
On March 27, 2020, the CARES Act was signed into law to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, including in the form of forgivable loans to small...more
News Briefs - Lawmakers Mull Lifting Restrictions on Physician-Owned Hospitals - Nearly 15 years ago, the construction of doctor-owned hospitals largely ground to a halt. But federal lawmakers now are considering bills that...more
5/21/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Cybersecurity ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Hospitals ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Physicians ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Private Equity ,
Rural Health Care Providers ,
Telehealth
News Briefs - Groups Urge Appeals Court to Revive Drug Price Negotiation Suit - Healthcare and drug industry groups urged a U.S. appeals court to revive their challenge to a law requiring manufacturers to negotiate the prices...more
5/13/2024
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Drug Pricing ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hospital Mergers ,
Hospitals ,
Medicare ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Nurses ,
Telehealth ,
Whistleblowers
News Briefs - Hospitals, Physicians at Odds Over FTC Noncompete Ban - The Federal Trade Commission's final rule banning noncompetes nationwide has implications for hospitals and physician practices, with representatives from...more
5/6/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Home Health Care ,
Hospitals ,
Nursing Homes ,
Physicians ,
Telehealth ,
Visas
News Briefs - Medicare Proposal Would Require Hospitals to Report Emissions - Hospitals for the first time could be asked to report their greenhouse gas emissions to the federal health department. A new Medicare proposal to...more
4/26/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hospitals ,
Labor Shortage ,
Medicare ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Nursing Homes ,
Physicians ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Section 340B
News Briefs - House Subcommittee Considering 15 Bills to Expand Telehealth - A major House subcommittee is considering 15 bills to expand access to telehealth services as the clock ticks on a Dec. 31 deadline on pandemic-era...more
4/22/2024
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Home Health Care ,
Hospital Mergers ,
Hospitals ,
Nursing Homes ,
Physicians ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Private Equity ,
Telehealth
News Briefs - Telehealth Access Challenged as Internet Subsidy Program Ends - More than 23 million low-income households -- urban, suburban, rural, and tribal -- are enrolled in the federal discount program Congress created...more
4/15/2024
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Cybersecurity ,
DEA ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Hospitals ,
Medicare ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Rural Health Care Providers ,
Telehealth
News Briefs - More Nonprofit Hospitals Adding Concierge Physician Practices - Nonprofit hospitals created largely to serve the poor are adding concierge physician practices, charging patients annual membership fees of $2,000...more
4/5/2024
/ Assisted Living Facilities (ALFs) ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Home Health Care ,
Hospice ,
Hospitals ,
Physicians ,
Telehealth