New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order on March 23 expanding resources to healthcare workers. The goal is to meet the treatment demands of coronavirus patients and, most significantly, provide healthcare providers with protection against lawsuits for medical malpractice and other potential liability. Executive Order 202.10 grants immunity to all physicians, physician assistants,

On March 30, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued blanket waivers of certain requirements of the federal physician self-referral law (Stark Law), retroactive to March 1, in response to the COVID-19 crisis. A detailed discussion of the waivers may be found here.

On March 28, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued a much-needed update clarifying what constitutes “essential industry” during the national COVID-19 response. This updated Guidance is especially important as many of the individual state declarations of emergency refer to “essential industry” without any enumeration, or specifically reference DHS-CISA agency

Several of the provisions in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) will help people with substance use disorders and the healthcare professionals who care for them. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration will receive $425 million to address mental health and substance use disorder needs as a result of

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), signed into law on March 27, made some substantial changes to the confidentiality rules for substance abuse and mental health records to bring them in line with HIPAA confidentiality rules. Among the changes, a covered entity or business associate may now use or disclose substance

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), signed into law on March 18, provides for the right to two different types of leave: “public health emergency leave” under a section of the FFCRA called the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act, and paid sick time under a section of the FFCRA called the Emergency

On March 27, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an order requiring all “non-essential” construction in the State to shut down, with the exception of (i) emergency projects necessary to protect the health and safety of building occupants; and (ii) projects that would be unsafe to shut down when incomplete, which may continue until they

Several of the provisions in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) passed by the Senate on March 25 relate to laboratory diagnostic testing for the COVID-19 virus.

Within Division A of the CARES Act, titled “Keeping Workers Paid and Employed, Health Care System Enhancements, and Economic Stabilization,” there are four sections

Amidst concerns over the rapid spread of COVID-19, on March 24, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response Frank Yiannas issued a statement advising Americans that “there is no evidence of human or animal food or food packaging being associated with transmission of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.” Yiannas noted

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released an updated edition of its Medicare Learning Network Telehealth Services booklet. The publication, targeted at Medicare fee-for-service providers, outlines Medicare’s telehealth reimbursement policies for 2020. There is also a short summary of the expanded telehealth benefits available to Medicare beneficiaries during the current COVID-19 outbreak,