The CFPB has issued a compliance bulletin and policy guidance on medical debt collection and consumer reporting requirements in connection with the No Surprises Act....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
Congress passed additional COVID-19 relief legislation (H.R. 133) on Monday evening, December 21, 2020. Today, President Trump is expected to sign the deal, which includes a $900 billion economic stimulus package that will...more
12/23/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Economic Injury Disaster Loans ,
Economic Stimulus ,
Eviction ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Foreclosure ,
Mortgages ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Relief Measures ,
SNAP Program ,
Unemployment Benefits
On August 3, 2020, President Trump signed the “Executive Order on Improving Rural Health and Telehealth Access” (the Executive Order). The Executive Order directed the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services...more
8/11/2020
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Medicare ,
Physician Fee Schedule ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Rural Health Care Providers ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine ,
Trump Administration
The CARES Act—and the Paycheck Protection Program and Healthcare Enhancement Act (PPHEA) that supplied additional funding to programs under the CARES Act—disbursed approximately $2.7 trillion in relief funding across the...more
Allocation of funds under the CARES Act Provider Relief Fund commenced on April 10, 2020, to address the economic impact of the pandemic on the U.S. healthcare system, including the heroic providers battling COVID-19....more
On March 27, 2020, Congress passed the CARES Act (the Act), an approximately $2 trillion bill drafted in response to the COVID-19 crisis, with the goal of providing much needed relief for the United States economy. ...more
3/27/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Diagnostic Tests ,
Financial Stimulus ,
FMAP ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Patient Access ,
Relief Measures ,
Telehealth ,
Vaccinations
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
With the spread of COVID-19, barriers to testing, treating, and getting paid for coronavirus-related care and containment efforts are being identified and addressed by federal and state regulators on a daily basis. ...more
3/13/2020
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
China ,
Clinical Laboratory Testing ,
Co-payments ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Federal Funding ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Medical Examinations ,
Medical Reimbursement ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Preventive Health Care ,
Public Health ,
Relief Measures ,
Risk Management ,
Telehealth ,
Trump Administration
The momentary lull in congressional activity on health care provides an opportune time for an update on the efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA)....more
8/16/2017
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Cadillac Tax ,
Employee Benefits ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Medicaid ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Repeal ,
Tax Credits ,
Trump Administration
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has vacated a district court's dismissal of a data breach class action filed against Horizon Healthcare Services Inc., in the wake of the 2013 theft of two computer laptops...more
1/24/2017
/ Appeals ,
Article III ,
Class Action ,
Data Breach ,
Electronic Medical Records ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
HIPAA Breach ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Laptop Computers ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
PHI ,
Standing
The latest development in how American courts will handle the standing question for data breach class actions came last week when the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed for lack of standing a putative...more
8/17/2016
/ Article III ,
Blue Cross ,
Blue Shield ,
CareFirst ,
Class Action ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Hackers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Identity Theft ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Standing
Handing the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) its first defeat in a federal court hospital merger challenge in more than a decade, a federal district court judge yesterday denied the joint request of the FTC and the Attorney...more
The Pennsylvania Superior Court has affirmed a trial court's decision denying class certification in a data breach case against two health plans, reversing its own earlier ruling in the same case that the plaintiff did not...more
The Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) most recent draft guidance focuses on cybersecurity in postmarket medical devices and makes recommendations for identifying, assessing, and responding to cybersecurity vulnerabilities....more
In response to a growing demand for cybersecurity guidance in the health care industry, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), through its National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence, recently published a...more
8/12/2015
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Hackers ,
Health Information Technologies ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
Information Technology ,
Mobile Devices ,
NIST ,
Passwords ,
Personally Identifiable Information
A recent New Jersey Tax Court decision has nonprofit entities on edge. The decision may offer tax authorities the opportunity to pursue payments from nonprofit hospitals and may result in the redefining of tax exemptions by...more
As previously reported, the Federal Communications Commission recently approved a Declaratory Ruling and Order (the Order) addressing a number of petitions that requested the FCC clarify its interpretations of the Telephone...more
7/14/2015
/ Auto-Dialed Calls ,
Collection Agencies ,
Debt Collection ,
Declaratory Rulings ,
Exemptions ,
FCC ,
Financial Institutions ,
Healthcare ,
Prior Express Consent ,
Revocation ,
TCPA ,
Telemarketing ,
Text Messages
A Pennsylvania judge has dismissed a class action arising out of the breach of confidential employee information, adding to a growing body of state courts that have found that negligence claims alleging failure to provide...more
The Food and Drug Administration’s recent guidance on mobile medical applications illustrates the FDA’s growing efforts to combat emerging cybersecurity issues that affect patient safety. The guidance, issued in February...more