AGG’s Home Health & Hospice team publishes a quarterly newsletter covering legal and regulatory topics specific to the home and community-based healthcare industry. The fields of end-of-life and home healthcare present business and regulatory challenges that require thoughtful legal approaches and experienced counsel.
In this edition, we discuss new actions by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, including releasing home health and hospice agency ownership data for the first time, announcing long-overdue updates to compliance program guidance documents, and winding down COVID-19 vaccination requirements. We also examine a Supreme Court case determining that certain provisions in the Federal Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987 give rise to a private right of action that is enforceable via the civil rights statute 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Finally, we highlight several of our AGG Healthcare attorneys’ articles and speaking engagements.
Featured Articles
Owners of Home Health Agencies and Hospices Released for First Time
By Alex Foster & Hedy Rubinger
On April 20, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) publicly released data on home health and hospice agency ownership for the first time. The data is derived from self-reported information (primarily through the CMS-855A form), is searchable, and includes specific ownership percentages. In its press release, CMS stated, “Shining a light on ownership data is good for families, good for researchers, and good for enforcement agencies.”
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OIG Developing Updated Compliance Guidance for Hospices and Other Providers
By Jason Bring & Lisa Churvis
Over the last three decades, the OIG has developed a series of voluntary compliance program guidance documents (“CPGs”) directed at various segments of the healthcare industry, such as hospitals, nursing homes, and hospices. The CPGs seek to encourage the development and use of internal controls to monitor adherence to applicable statutes, regulations, and program requirements.
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End of PHE to Bring Some Relief for Nursing Homes, Other Providers
By Jennifer Hilliard
With proposed staffing standards looming for skilled nursing facilities/nursing facilities (“SNFs/NFs”), a White House press release and a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) Quality, Safety & Oversight Group (“QSO”) memorandum bring welcome news for providers that have been struggling with staffing since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Impact of Health & Hospital Corporation of Marion County v. Talevski on Government-Owned Nursing Homes
By Lisa Churvis
Does legislation enacted pursuant to Congress’s Spending Clause power give rise to rights privately enforceable via 42 U.S.C. § 1983? If so, do provisions regarding medication and transfer in the Federal Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987 (“FNHRA” or the “Act”) give rise to rights enforceable by § 1983? In a 7-2 decision penned by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the Supreme Court of the United States answered “yes” to both questions.
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