In today’s episode of our Hospice Privacy Series, Husch Blackwell’s Meg Pekarske is joined by colleagues Wakaba Tessier and Erin Burns, who share insights on the ins and outs of HIPAA breaches. They break down what a HIPAA breach really is, the types of breaches most often experienced by hospices and what to do when you think you have discovered a breach.

On June 9, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released its long anticipated interim final rule and request for comments for the Occupational Exposure to COVID-19; Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). OSHA released the ETS one day after the approval of the standard was received from the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office

Last week, in the case of Rocky Mountain Association of Recruiters v. Moss, Case No. 1:20-cv-03819 (U.S.D.C. Colo.), U.S. District Judge William J. Martinez denied a plaintiff’s request for a preliminary injunction to block portions of Colorado’s Equal Pay for Equal Work Act (EPEWA). The EPEWA, which went into effect beginning this year, aims

jCyte, Inc., a biotech company dedicated to improving the lives of patients with retinal degenerative diseases, today announced the further expansion of the company’s executive management team with the appointment of John Sholar as general counsel. The full piece can be found here: https://bit.ly/3uj3qzX

A heartfelt congratulations to John from the Husch Blackwell Healthcare,

1.  I have a unionized workforce. Do I need to bargain before mandating that my employees are Covid vaccinated before reporting to work?

With the CDC largely ending mask requirements for those who are Covid vaccinated, many employers will look anew at whether they will require vaccinations for their employees to participate in the workplace. While this whole topic raises a myriad of questions related to vaccine certificates, maintenance of medical records, and exceptions that might apply to employees because of religious or health accommodations, an entirely separate question comes up as to whether employers may mandate their union workforce to be vaccinated in order to work.

Since mid-2020, many pharmaceutical manufacturers have introduced policies that scope their offering of 340B pricing, including limiting contract pharmacy arrangements and requiring covered entities to submit claims data. These policies have generated a good deal of attention generally, and a significant number of covered entities have made attendant complaints to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

More than half of the nations’ physicians now work as salaried employees. The remainder of physicians, who are primarily in large independent groups, are contemplating their next move.

In a recent webinar presented by Weaver, “Before Buying or Selling Your Physician Practice, Listen to This,” we provide insightful commentary about what is happening in the marketplace, along with transaction considerations.

As more businesses begin to reintegrate employees into their pre-pandemic workplaces, many of our clients have questions regarding return-to-work issues. In this edition of Funny You Should Ask, we address three questions many of our clients have asked during the past few weeks. The answers below focus on compliance with federal law. As always, employers will need to take state and local laws into consideration in addition to federal law.