As if to underscore Health and Human Services’ (“HHS”) commitment to electronic medical record interoperability and against information blocking, OCR closed out 2020 with a sweeping number of enforcement actions under its HIPAA Right of Access Initiative (“Initiative”). OCR also didn’t hesitate to…
As we reported previously, earlier this year, the Indiana Legislature passed House Bill 1004, which created a new law affecting physician noncompete agreements and physician separations codified at Indiana Code 25-22.5-5.5 that went into effect on July 1, 2020.
The new law sets out five provisions…
COVID-19 has undoubtedly elevated telehealth in the health care industry, and has all but assured its continuance long after the public health emergency ends. However, the exact form that telehealth may take along its pathway to becoming a permanent fixture in the health care delivery system is…
As we previously reported, on September 14, 2020 CMS Administrator Seema Verma announced, via a tweet, that CMS was withdrawing the proposed rule titled “Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Rule” (“Proposed Rule”). While the Proposed Rule was marketed as promoting transparency of the Medicaid program,…
Yesterday, the D.C. Court of Appeals (the “Appeals Court”) issued its ruling affirming summary judgment in favor of the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) and against the American Hospital Association (“AHA”). The ruling clears the way for CMS’s Price Transparency Rule (“Rule”) which…
Yesterday, the D.C. Court of Appeals (the “Appeals Court”) issued its ruling affirming summary judgment in favor of the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) and against the American Hospital Association (“AHA”). The ruling clears the way for CMS’s Price Transparency Rule (“Rule”) which…
On December 10, 2020 the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights (“HHS”) announced proposed modifications to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) Privacy Rule (45 CFR Parts 160 and 164). The proposed modifications are detailed in HHS’s…
The HHS Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) published its intent to review some key measures the Federal government made in response to COVID-19. Those key measures include the Medicare program’s telehealth policy changes and oversight of funds disbursed to providers under the CARES Act and the…
“Our perfect companions never have fewer than four feet.” ~ Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette
Over time, dogs and other animals have played many roles in society that span beyond being comforting companions in our homes. Of these roles, arguably one of the most important is to provide services and support…
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the National Coordinator for IT (“ONC”) announced a much-anticipated interim final rule with comment period (“Interim Rule”). As expected, the ONC extended various compliance dates and timeframes relating to its electronic medical record…
Patients treating at hospitals during the ongoing public health emergency face a number of challenges with respect to access to on-site and virtual support from family and friends. Compounding the stress, some hospitals have denied patients in-person access to members of their respective clergy in…
Recently, in Anonymous Hospital v. Mason Spencer and Steve Robertson, Commissioner of The Indiana Dept. of Insurance, and Doug Hill, Medical Review Panel Chair, 20A-CT-393, the Indiana Court of Appeals held that a patient may assert negligence on the part of nonparty physicians in his submission to…
