The California Attorney General recently published an opinion  (No. 15-301) clarifying when a report under California Business and Professions Code section 805 must be filed.  Section 805 requires hospitals and other entities to file a report with the relevant state healing arts agency “within 15 days after the effective date” of certain adverse actions taken…

On April 23, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released a new COVID-19 toolkit. While the toolkit is directed to the states, it should serve the American telehealth community as a focal point for the organization and alignment of the infinite number of state and federal regulations relevant to telehealth. So, it serves as a great organizing tool for provider’s own operational use but also as an architecture for providers to catalogue the changes they would like to suggest to the states in order to improve access to telehealth.

In this episode, Meg Pekarske talks with Michael McHale who is President and CEO of TRU Community Care. Michael is a friend, colleague and hospice innovator. As a former board member of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (“NHPCO”), Michael is always thinking of ways to lead proactive growth and change. He is driven

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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will soon make targeted distributions of the next tranche of the Provider Relief Fund to hospitals and other facilities that have been particularly affected by caring for those with the coronavirus. By 11:59 p.m. ET, hospitals will need to complete the HHS information request on ICU beds, COVID-19 positive patients, etc. Specifically, to be eligible to receive a portion of the $10 billion of the next $70 billion in funding from the CARES Act, providers need to submit the information via a CMS portal. This is not a guarantee of payment—rather, CMS is using this information to decide how to allocate the remaining funds.

Governor Laura Kelly signed Executive Order 20-26 which provides liability protections and regulatory flexibility for health care providers in the state of Kansas. The order went into effect on April 22nd and remains in effect until May 31st or until the COVID-19 state of emergency is declared over. The six page document eases regulatory requirements related to health care delegation and supervision as well as increases the pool of health care workers. Further, health care providers will be protected against liability for death or personal injury in response to COVID-19 care.

On April 13, 2020 the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) began accepting applications for the COVID-19 Telehealth Program (“Telehealth Program”), money which is part of the recent Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“Cares Act”).  The Telehealth Program will provide $200 million in funding to assist eligible health care providers deliver telehealth services to patients in their homes or other mobile locations to combat novel Coronavirus 2019 (“COVID-19”).  The funding is available for eligible health care providers responding to the COVID-19 pandemic by compensating providers for their telecommunication services, information services, and devices necessary for them to provide critical telehealth services.

Nonprofit leaders have encountered numerous challenges over a few short weeks. How can we pursue our mission when our office is closed? Can we continue to make payroll? How do we recover after cancelling major fundraisers?

Husch Blackwell’s COVID-19 Response Team has compiled numerous resources to help nonprofit leaders adapt to new legislation, including the Families Forward Coronavirus Response Act and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”). You can find these resources here, with an article specifically directed to nonprofit leaders here.

Today, the Texas Governor, Greg Abbott, issued an Executive Order that significantly loosens his previous restrictions on the performance of elective surgeries by modifying prior language and adding an additional exception to the prohibition.  Specifically, the new Order states that, effective April 21, 2020 and continuing until 11:59 pm on May 8, 2020.

All licensed health care professionals and all licensed health care facilities shall postpone all surgeries and procedures that are not medically necessary to diagnose or correct a serious medical condition of, or to preserve the life of, a patient who without timely performance of the surgery or procedure would be at risk for serious adverse medical consequences or death, as determined by the patient’s physician; provided, however, that this prohibition shall not apply to either of the following:

In a Policy Statement released on April 3, 2020, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that it will exercise its enforcement discretion and not impose administrative sanctions under the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) for certain financial arrangements related to COVID-19 covered by the blanket waivers issued by the Secretary of HHS on March 30, 2020 (the Blanket Waivers). The Blanket Waivers apply to sanctions for potential violations of the federal Physician Self-Referral Law (also known as the Stark Law) with respect to specific “COVID-19 Purposes,” which Husch Blackwell summarized in a recent blog. The OIG’s Policy became effective upon release (while the Blanket Waivers are retroactively effective March 1, 2020), and will terminate upon termination of the Blanket Waivers, unless otherwise specified by the OIG.

Two new federal rules will make it easier for consumers to access, use and transmit their personal healthcare information using an app on their smartphone or tablet.  The regulations implement prior legislation and advance the current Administration’s intent to empower patients to be better consumers and transform the healthcare industry.

The two final rules were released on March 9 by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS):  from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), the 21st Century Cures Act: Interoperability, Information Blocking, and the ONC Health IT Certification Program final rule; and, from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the final rule on Interoperability and Patient Access.