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Contracting Webinar

Friday, November 5, 2021 | Live Webinar | 11:00 a.m. – Noon CDT
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Executive Order 14042 (Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors), the resulting guidance and the recent array of class deviation contract clauses create interesting and novel federal contract compliance and practical workforce management considerations.

Husch Blackwell addressed the guidance shortly after it was first issued and has now developed a program to explore the topic at depth. Please join us as we discuss issues federal contractors and subcontractors of all tiers will have to consider now that federal agencies have started modifying existing federal contracts to include the new contract clauses, and identify ways you can prepare for and stay in compliance.
Continue Reading Navigating the Federal Contractor COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate: Legal and Practical Considerations for Federal Contractors and Subcontractors

Executive Order GA-40

Governor Abbott’s Executive Order

On October 11, 2021, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued Executive Order GA-40 (the Texas Order) banning COVID-19 vaccine mandates by any entity, including private employers, in Texas. Because the Texas Order was issued while Texas remains in a state of emergency related to the pandemic, the Texas Disaster Act grants it the force and effect of law. The Texas Order states that “no entity in Texas” can compel vaccination for anyone in the state who objects “for any reason of personal conscience, based on a religious belief, or for medical reasons, including prior recovery from COVID-19.” “Personal conscience” is undefined, and this ambiguity in the Texas Order makes it unclear whether an individual can object to the COVID-19 vaccine due to reasons other than religion or those medically related.
Continue Reading Texas Governor Mandates “No Mandates” for COVID-19 Vaccination

Thursday, September 30, 2021
Live Webinar | 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. CDT

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Healthcare employers have been implementing vaccine mandates—hard mandates, soft mandates, and everything in between—for some time now. The religious exemption requests, however, are piling up. Join Husch Blackwell attorneys who have experience addressing the myriad issues involving religious exemptions, including federal law, state laws and “right of conscience” laws. Stick around for questions and answers and hear other human resources leaders in healthcare share their experiences.
Continue Reading Roundtable: Religious Exemptions and Vaccine Mandates in Healthcare

Vaccine Mandates Webinar

Did you miss some of the webinar, want to review some of the material or have a colleague who missed the program? The webinar recording is now available for viewing at your convenience. Simply register using the following link and you will have access to the recorded webcast. https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/3418654/CFE58C2AEF93EDB2894F6D043A5D5422?mode=login&email=priscilla.murray@huschblackwell.com
Continue Reading Legal Considerations and Future Vaccine Mandates—How to Prepare for the Federal Vaccine Mandate

Provider Relief Fund Update

On September 10, the Biden-Harris Administration, in conjunction with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announced that $25.5 billion in relief funds will be distributed to healthcare providers through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The American Rescue Plan (ARP) will provide $8.5 billion in funding and an additional $17 billion will be distributed as Phase 4 Provider Relief Funds (PRF).
Continue Reading Healthcare Providers to Receive $25.5 Billion in Relief Funds

Executive Order GA-40

As reported in a previous blog post, the Texas 87th Legislature passed S.B. 809, an Act adding Chapter 81A entitled “Coronavirus Disease Public Health Emergency Reporting” to the Texas Health and Safety Code. This Act requires “health care institutions” who received federal relief funds under the CARES Act, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, or the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to report the amounts received to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. As directed in the Act, HHSC has issued proposed rules regarding the reporting requirements, comments were due September 3, 2021.

The Act defines “health care institution” as an entity listed in Texas Health and Safety Code 74.001(11).
Continue Reading Update: Texas HHSC Issues Provider Relief Fund Reporting Requirements – October 1, 2021 Deadline

ADA Graphic

On July 26, 2021, the White House issued a press release marking the 31st anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act and announcing the publication of new guidance and resources dedicated to assisting disabled individuals, including individuals with long COVID, which entails new or recurring symptoms experienced by some individuals infected with COVID-19 that can last for months after the individual is first infected, even if the initial infection was mild. Due to the “persistent and significant” health issues presented by long COVID, the Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) published guidance to explain the application of federal disability laws to individuals suffering from long COVID. The federal government also published a compilation of resources, some of which apply to employers, regarding accommodations for workers suffering from long COVID.
Continue Reading Long COVID as a Disability under Federal Anti-Discrimination Laws

Missouri

Husch Blackwell secured a victory before the Missouri Supreme Court in closely watched litigation over the implementation of Amendment 2, a 2020 ballot initiative that Missourians passed and that would expand Medicaid coverage in the state.

The litigation stemmed from the decision of Missouri’s Department of Social Services to refuse to enroll the plaintiffs in MO HealthNet, the state’s Medicaid plan, because the Missouri General Assembly allegedly failed to appropriate funding for the program’s expansion. The trial court ruled that Amendment 2 violated article III, section 51 of the Missouri Constitution, which prohibits a ballot measure from appropriating money without creating revenue to fund the initiative.
Continue Reading Husch Blackwell Prevails Over Opposition to Missouri Medicaid Expansion

Executive Order GA-40

This Spring, the Texas 87th Legislature passed S.B. 809, an Act adding Chapter 81A entitled “Coronavirus Disease Public Health Emergency Reporting” to the Texas Health and Safety Code. This Act requires “health care institutions” who received federal relief funds under the CARES Act, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, or the American Rescue Plan Act of…

On July 1, 2021, the Office of Personnel Management (“OPM”), the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), the Department of Treasury (“Treasury”), the Employee Benefits Security Administration (“EBSA”), the Department of Labor (“DOL”), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”), and the Department of Health and Human Services (“CMS”) (collectively the “Departments”) jointly issued the Interim Rule – Requirements Related to Surprise Billing; Part 1 (hereinafter, the “Interim Rule” or the “Rule”). This Interim Rule is the first implementing regulation of the federal No Surprises Act (alternatively the “Act”) which was enacted on December 27, 2020 as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act. Both this Interim Rule, and the Act, are effective applicable for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2022.
Continue Reading Federal Guidance on Balance Billing: The No Surprises Act and its Interim Final Rule: Part I