Podcast: Owner's Outlook: Renovating and Expanding Critical Access Hospitals in a Volatile Market - Diagnosing Health Care
K&L Gates Triage: 340B Eligibility - Hospital Covered Entities
Recently, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”), and Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (“ONC”) announced the...more
Skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) owned or operated by hospitals (hospital-owned SNFs) have a demonstrated track record of delivering positive outcomes for post-acute care patients. Such success, however, has not been without...more
As promised in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) concept paper in December 2023, the agency published voluntary health care and public health cybersecurity performance goals (HPH CPGs) in January 2024 and...more
On February 8, 2024, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a memorandum from the Quality, Safety & Oversight Group (QSOG) updating its 2018 guidance on texting patient information among healthcare...more
Research from Guidepoint Security found that 2023 saw an 80% increase in ransomware activity year-over-year, driven in part by multiple mass exploitation campaigns impacting hundreds of organizations. In total, the report...more
Reflecting on lessons learned and complaints received during the COVID-19 pandemic, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released detailed frequently asked questions (FAQs)...more
On February 8, 2024, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a quality standard memorandum (QSO Memo) updating and revising a memorandum it issued on January 5, 2018, to now permit the texting of patient...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a proposed rule that establishes disincentives for healthcare providers who violate the Information Blocking Rule (IBR) under the 21st Century Cures Act ("Cures...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has just unveiled a proposed rule designed to penalize health care providers engaging in information blocking. Information blocking is a practice where health care...more
In coordination with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) proposed a...more
On December 27, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (“CMS”) of the Department of Health and Human Services created a new provider type for embattled rural and critical access hospitals (“CAHs”)—the Rural Emergency...more
In this episode of Triage, Andrew Ruskin, Darlene Davis, and Gabriel Scott discuss key provisions associated with conversion to CMS’s new rural emergency hospital provider type. They review the purpose of the new provider...more
Effective January 1, 2023, The Joint Commission (TJC) eliminated 168 (or 14%) of its accreditation standards across all of its accreditation programs and revised 14 other standards. To further streamline its standards, TJC is...more
On January 1, 2023, Medicare began paying for services provided at Rural Emergency Hospitals (REHs), a newly created provider type established to preserve access to emergency health care in rural areas and avert closure of...more
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) recently released new guidance about the process for converting to a Rural Emergency Hospital (“REH”) – a new Medicaid provider type effective Jan. 1, 2023. REHs are...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
Co-Location and the Provider-Based Rules – No News is…Good News? On July 15, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ("CMS") released the 2023 Outpatient Prospective Payment System proposed rule (“OPPS Proposed...more
Beginning in 2023, Medicare will recognize a new provider type: the Rural Emergency Hospital (REH). The establishment of REHs is intended to preserve access to emergency departments and other outpatient services in rural...more
Over the last 12–24 months, Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) have seen steep cost escalation in their expansion and renovation plans, with expense increases exceeding 10 percent. Combined with nationwide staffing shortages,...more
The Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services (“CMS”) published the proposed rule for establishing Rural Emergency Hospitals on June 30, 2022. The federal assistance opportunities for these types of providers may prompt...more
Tucked into the recent proposed rule establishing Rural Emergency Hospital Conditions of Participation (CoPs) is a proposal to change the CoPs for critical access hospitals (CAHs). The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services...more
On June 30, 2022, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the long-awaited proposed rule establishing the Conditions of Participation (CoPs) that Rural Emergency Hospitals (REHs) would be required to meet...more
On April 15, 2022, the D.C. Circuit affirmed the denial of a California hospital’s request to obtain critical access hospital cost reimbursement from Medicare for the costs incurred to keep non-emergency specialty physicians...more
On October 6, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released guidance regarding the requirements and enforcement process for hospital reporting of COVID-19 data elements (the “Guidance”). The Guidance...more
On August 4, 2020, CMS proposed its annual rule adjusting the Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) Payment System, as well as changes to quality reporting...more