RECENT HEALTH LAW NEWS

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently released an audit report on HIPAA compliance by 166 covered entities and 41 business associates during 2016-2017. The audits included detailed on-site reviews of entities’ documentation and implementation of HIPAA rules. The release of the report may foreshadow increased enforcement activities

Spending time with family is always important, especially during the holiday season. The holidays are different this year, due to the pandemic, and spending time with loved ones in skilled nursing facilities requires additional planning.

In response to recent spikes in Covid-19 cases in skilled nursing facilities, the New York Department of Health in November

A proposed rule released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on December 10 would give healthcare providers more flexibility to share patients’ health information for certain purposes. The rule, titled “Proposed Modifications to the HIPAA Privacy Rule to Support, and Remove Barriers to, Coordinated Care and Individual Engagement,” would loosen HIPAA restrictions

The 2021 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) final rule recently released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) includes the addition of 60 new telehealth services that will be covered and reimbursed by Medicare. The new services will allow Medicare beneficiaries to have greater access to telehealth, with a particular focus on residents of

A recent article in Law360, “Bogus HIPAA Claims Are Flourishing As Pandemic Worsens,” discussed how the Covid-19 pandemic is fueling false assertions about the scope of privacy protections under HIPAA. Rivkin Radler’s Eric Fader was quoted in the article.

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The Office of Inspector General, Department of Health and Human Services (OIG) has finalized new safe harbors and modifications of existing safe harbors under the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) to reflect a policy priority favoring a value-based health care system that “pays for health and outcomes” and that will “remove potential barriers to more effective

The U.S. Department of Justice announced on November 20 that Doctor’s Choice Home Care, Inc. agreed to pay $3,856,000 to resolve allegations that the agency paid illegal kickbacks to physicians for referring patients. The agency will pay an additional $675,000 to resolve separate allegations that its employees pressured clinical personnel to increase the number of

A recent article in Healthcare Risk Management, “What to Do When Malpractice Allegations Become Defamation,” discussed the different types of defamation, including unfounded statements posted online by patients. Rivkin Radler’s David Richman was quoted extensively in the article.

On November 20, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) announced the issuance of long-awaited final rules to modernize the Stark Law and federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS). Proposed changes, intended to promote value-based arrangements for providers and coordinated care for patients,

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a Special Fraud Alert on November 16, warning that speaker programs organized by pharmaceutical and medical device companies pose inherent fraud and abuse risks. OIG is “skeptical about the educational value of such programs” and cautioned that remuneration to referring practitioners