RECENT HEALTH LAW NEWS
March 16, 2020 | Marc S. Ullman | COVID-19 | FDA | Fraud and Abuse | Legislation and Public Policy | Litigation
On March 6, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued joint Warning Letters to seven companies calling for them to cease marketing products appearing to violate federal law by making deceptive or scientifically unsupported claims about their ability to treat Coronavirus (COVID-19). The companies targeted, (1) Vital Silver, (2) Quinessence
Read MoreMarch 12, 2020 | Ada Janocinska | Electronic Health Records | HIPAA | Hospitals | Legislation and Public Policy | Medical Devices and Wearables | Medicare and Medicaid | Private Insurers | Telehealth
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) have finalized two highly anticipated rules that are intended to give patients “unprecedented safe, secure access to their health data.”
ONC will establish a certification process for application programming interfaces (APIs) that will meet certain interoperability
Read MoreMarch 11, 2020 | Eric D. Fader | COVID-19 | Home Health | Hospitals | Legislation and Public Policy | Medicare and Medicaid | Nursing Homes | Private Insurers | Telehealth
Over the past week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a flurry of guidance documents and FAQs regarding COVID-19 for healthcare providers in private practice, hospitals, nursing homes, hospices and dialysis facilities, and for Medicare Advantage and Part D insurance plans. The guidance includes how to bill and collect for coronavirus
Read MoreMarch 10, 2020 | Cannabis | Legislation and Public Policy
The Cannabis Regulation and Taxation Act proposed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act under consideration by the State Legislature, would mandate social and economic equity programs as part of legalizing adult-use marijuana in New York, to ensure that communities that have been disparately impacted by the “War on
Read MoreMarch 9, 2020 | Rivkin Rounds Staff | Fraud and Abuse | Litigation | Private Insurers
Rivkin Radler’s Evan Krinick authored a March 6 article in the New York Law Journal, “Second Circuit Cases May Affect Insurers’ Ability To Fight No-Fault Fraud,” that discussed two pending cases relating to New York no-fault insurance carriers. Both cases involve a healthcare provider that filed hundreds of new arbitration proceedings or collection lawsuits against
Read MoreMarch 6, 2020 | Eric D. Fader | COVID-19 | Legislation and Public Policy | Medicare and Medicaid | Telehealth
The “Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020,” signed into law by the President on March 6, includes provisions waiving Medicare’s geographic restrictions on telehealth during a public health emergency. This will enable healthcare providers to provide care via telehealth in urban and rural areas as well as in patients’ homes within the “emergency
Read MoreMarch 5, 2020 | Eric D. Fader | COVID-19 | Hospitals | Legislation and Public Policy | Medicare and Medicaid | Pharmaceuticals | Private Insurers | Telehealth
On March 2, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced new regulations on New York health insurers regarding coverage for coronavirus testing and related matters. The State Department of Financial Services (DFS) directive requires insurers to waive cost sharing for COVID-19 testing at emergency room, urgent care and office visits. In addition, Medicaid patients will not
Read MoreMarch 3, 2020 | Rivkin Rounds Staff | Hospitals
An article in the March issue of Healthcare Risk Management, “Develop Plan for Responding to Adverse Events,” discussed the importance of hospitals preparing in advance for how to respond to an unexpected death, serious accident or possible malpractice. Rivkin Radler’s David Richman was quoted in the article. To read it, click here.
Read MoreFebruary 27, 2020 | Eric D. Fader | Electronic Health Records | HIPAA | Legislation and Public Policy
On February 25, the American Medical Association (AMA) announced the release of its new Patient Records Electronic Access Playbook. The 100-page guide is intended to help physician practices navigate the legal and practical requirements of providing patients with access to their electronic health information.
The Playbook discusses relevant provisions of HIPAA and points out many
Read MoreFebruary 26, 2020 | Eric D. Fader | Cybersecurity | Electronic Health Records | HIPAA | Hospitals | Private Insurers
A recent article in HIPAA Journal, “Ransomware Attacks Have Cost the Healthcare Industry at Least $157 Million Since 2016,” discussed a new study by Comparitech that examined ransomware attacks on the healthcare industry. In the past three years, at least 172 ransomware attacks on healthcare entities in the U.S. have affected 1,446 facilities, providers and
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