RECENT HEALTH LAW NEWS
March 25, 2020 | Eric D. Fader | COVID-19 | Hospitals | Legislation and Public Policy | Medicare and Medicaid | Telehealth
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,
Read MoreMarch 24, 2020 | Rivkin Rounds Staff | COVID-19 | HIPAA | Home Health | Hospitals | Legislation and Public Policy | Medicare and Medicaid | Private Insurers | Telehealth
Rivkin Radler has launched a Coronavirus Resource Center on the firm’s website. All of the firm’s COVID-19-related articles and blog posts, across our many practice groups, are now compiled in one place for easy reference. We’ll continue adding to the Resource Center as the pandemic continues.
Read MoreMarch 24, 2020 | Ashley Algazi | COVID-19 | Hospitals | Legislation and Public Policy
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has issued a number of Executive Orders aimed at temporarily facilitating the ability of healthcare professionals to practice in New York State and aid hospitals in the care and treatment of coronavirus patients. Gov. Cuomo has also been directly soliciting healthcare professionals from all forms of practice to supplement hospital
Read MoreMarch 23, 2020 | Geoffrey R. Kaiser | COVID-19 | Fraud and Abuse | HIPAA | Hospitals | Legislation and Public Policy | Medicare and Medicaid
Responding to the Coronavirus public health emergency, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) has waived certain requirements of the Medicare, Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), including requirements relating to the Stark Self-Referral Law (“Stark”), the HIPAA privacy regulations and the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). This action was taken
Read MoreMarch 20, 2020 | Marc S. Ullman | COVID-19 | FDA | Legislation and Public Policy
In order to ensure the safety and health of its workforce and regulated industry, on March 18, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it was suspending routine domestic facility inspections in order to limit potential exposure to COVID-19 for investigators and workers at facilities. FDA had previously announced that it was suspending
Read MoreMarch 19, 2020 | Eric D. Fader | Margarita Christoforou | COVID-19 | Home Health | Legislation and Public Policy | Medicare and Medicaid | Private Insurers | Telehealth
On March 17, the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) announced the issuance of a new emergency regulation requiring insurance companies in the state to waive cost-sharing, including deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance, for in-network telehealth visits, whether or not related to coronavirus. The new regulation will “encourage New Yorkers to seek medical attention
Read MoreMarch 18, 2020 | Eric D. Fader | COVID-19 | Hospitals | Legislation and Public Policy
In response to the COVID-19 public health emergency, on March 16 New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio signed an Emergency Executive Order ordering the closing of restaurants, bars, gyms, and entertainment venues, and suspending numerous regulations and laws that require public meetings and hearings within the City. The Order also includes a direction to
Read MoreMarch 18, 2020 | Margarita Christoforou | Behavioral Health | COVID-19 | Home Health | Hospitals | Legislation and Public Policy | Medicare and Medicaid | Telehealth
In an effort to limit the spread of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on March 17 announced the expansion of Medicare coverage for telehealth nationwide, effective immediately. CMS will temporarily pay clinicians to provide telehealth services for Medicare beneficiaries residing anywhere in the U.S. so that those who
Read MoreMarch 17, 2020 | Eric D. Fader | COVID-19 | Home Health | Hospitals | Legislation and Public Policy | Medicare and Medicaid | Telehealth
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has created a “Current Emergencies” page on its website that compiles links to the agency’s recent press releases and guidance regarding coronavirus in one place. CMS has already issued more than 30 press releases and guidance documents in March alone and there are too many to summarize,
Read MoreMarch 17, 2020 | Eric D. Fader | COVID-19 | Electronic Health Records | HIPAA | Legislation and Public Policy
As it has previously done for specific geographic areas affected by hurricanes, on March 15, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a HIPAA Bulletin providing for a limited waiver of HIPAA sanctions and penalties for covered entities during the current COVID-19 (coronavirus) public health emergency.
Such waiver is primarily intended to
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