On May 1, 2023, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) announced two investigations of hospitals that failed to offer necessary stabilizing care to a pregnant individual experiencing an emergency medical...more
It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there have been an unprecedented number of changes for the past few years—and this past month...more
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas recently held that unsolicited text messages that simply inform recipients of the availability of a free COVID-19 vaccine are protected by the “emergency purposes”...more
Coming on the heels of Kentucky’s record-high number of COVID-19 infections, dozens of employees of St. Elizabeth Healthcare just filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Covington against the hospital in response to its...more
On August 18, 2021, Mississippi’s State Health Officer Thomas Dobbs issued a statewide Order (https://msdh.ms.gov/msdhsite/_static/resources/15395.pdf) allowing certified paramedics, advanced emergency medical technicians,...more
Update: On the evening of October 29, 2020, El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego issued Order No. 13 “Stay Home/Stay Safe.” Order No. 13 supersedes all prior orders unless referenced in Order No. 13. Order No. 13 went into...more
As described in our recent article setting forth the Basics of FEMA Public Assistance Program Funding for the COVID-19 Pandemic, national emergency and disaster declarations have made federal Disaster Relief Funds available...more
On March 13, 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic was declared a National Emergency by President Trump.This declaration set in motion the availability of FEMA Public Assistance (PA) disaster relief funds to support nonprofit healthcare...more
As previously reported, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued Executive Order GA-15 extending the ban on surgeries and procedures with modifications regarding diagnostic procedures, timely (rather than immediate) need for...more
On April 17, 2020, Texas Governor, Gregg Abbot signed Executive Order GA-15 which extended, with some modifications, Executive Order GA-09 which prohibits certain non-emergency surgeries and procedures and is set to expire on...more
Exceptions outlined in state and local directives likely encompass the investigatory and remedial activities performed by environmental contractors. Most California stay-at-home orders include exceptions for professional...more
The FCC recently issued a declaratory ruling explaining what calls and text message alerts it viewed as “emergency” for purposes of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Under TCPA, requirements to obtain consent to make...more
On March 18, 2020, we authored an update regarding housing construction under the shelter-in-place orders jointly issued by six Bay Area counties—Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa...more
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued a Declaratory Ruling providing guidance (Guidance) on the implementation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA) as COVID-19 continues to necessitate...more
In times of emergency, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the "Secretary") has authority to issue temporary waivers or modifications of certain Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and HIPAA requirements. The Centers for...more
As the pressure mounts on hospitals and healthcare facilities throughout the country to confront the overflow of patients affected by the COVID-19 virus, State and local governmental agencies are contracting with hotel owners...more
In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, California has taken the extraordinary action of limiting the regulatory enforcement of most licensed health facility requirements. On March 15, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued...more
As the COVID-19 outbreak response intensifies and the number of patients continues to grow, stakeholders are working hard to strengthen the health care community and ensure that sufficient capacity is available to meet the...more
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) generally prohibits automated calls, including text messages, to cell phones without sufficient prior express consent, and imposes a statutory penalty of $500 to $1,500 per...more
On March 12, President Trump issued a formal Declaration of a National Emergency that authorizes qualifying nonprofit healthcare entities to receive reimbursement under section 502 of the Stafford Act and FEMA’s Public...more
While communities that regularly experience natural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes are familiar with FEMA's Public Assistance process, the President's recent declaration of a nationwide emergency under...more
Although we remain hopeful that Iowa will be spared the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic and health care resources will be sufficient to care for all patients in need, we encourage hospitals and hospital-based physicians to...more
Responding to the Coronavirus public health emergency, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) has waived certain requirements of the Medicare, Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), including...more
On March 13, 2020, the President declared the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in the U.S. a national emergency. The President’s declaration, coupled with Section 1135 (of the Social Security Act) waivers issued by the...more
On March 23, 2020, the Maryland Secretary of Health issued an Order and Directive (the “Directive”) that addresses a number of different health care issues for the prevention and control of COVID-19. One area addressed is the...more