Legislation and Public Policy

On March 22, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued guidance clarifying the obligations of covered entities to require their business associates to comply with HIPAA Administrative Simplification requirements related to standards for electronic health care transactions, code sets, unique identifiers, and operating rules.

While these requirements apply only to covered entities,

A March 21 article in Part B News, ACO REACH tweaks help smaller group practices, promote health equity,” discussed the Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Realizing Equity, Access and Community Health (REACH) model, which was announced on February 24 as a replacement for the CMS Global and Professional Direct Contracting (GPDC) model. Both programs are

In a report published on March 31, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommended that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) begin to collect and analyze information about any effect telehealth has on the quality of care for Medicaid beneficiaries. CMS does not currently collect or analyze this information, nor does it have

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services expanded Medicare coverage for telehealth nationwide, as discussed here. The $1.5 trillion omnibus spending bill signed into law by President Biden today extended the current telehealth accommodations for 151 days after the end of the federal public health emergency, which

In a February 23 order, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas vacated a controversial rule issued in September that implemented the independent dispute resolution (IDR) procedure under the federal No Surprises Act (NSA). The lawsuit[1] was brought by the Texas Medical Association. Numerous industry participants had complained that the

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center (HC3) recently issued a report entitled “Electronic Medical Records in Healthcare” that discussed security risks applicable to electronic medical records (EMRs) and electronic health records (EHRs). EHRs and EMRs are prime targets for cyber attackers because protected health information (PHI)

On Thursday, March 10, in the next installment of Rivkin Radler’s Healthcare Compliance Lunch & Learn series, Rivkin Radler’s Chris Kutner and Ashley Algazi will discuss Compliance and Legal Considerations for Value Based Arrangements. The program will take place from 12:00 noon to 1:00 PM Eastern time via Zoom.

The topics covered will include:

  • Framework

We don’t often cover brand-new proposed legislation on Rivkin Rounds, generally preferring to wait until it’s closer to becoming law. However, two bipartisan bills introduced in Congress last week are worthy of mention.

The Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act would allow the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to extend certain pandemic-era flexibilities in Medicare

On Thursday, February 10, in the next installment of Rivkin Radler’s Healthcare Compliance Lunch & Learn series, Rivkin Radler Partner John Diviney will present a review of employment laws taking effect in 2022. The program will take place from 12:00 noon to 1:00 PM Eastern time via Zoom.

Some of the topics covered will be: