Health Care Law Blog
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services ("HHS") Office of Inspector General ("OIG") recently issued a preliminary report regarding quality-of-care concerns at skilled nursing facilities ("SNFs"). The report was issued in connection with the OIG's ongoing review of potential abuse and neglect of Medicare beneficiaries in SNFs.
In order to encourage health providers to use electronic medical records (“EHRs”) in lieu of paper records, Congress passed the Medicare and Medicaid Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (“HITECH Act”) in 2009.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Service's Office for Civil Rights ("OCR") recently published guidance for entities covered by HIPAA, entitled "My entity just experienced a cyber-attack! What do we do now?"
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ("CMS") recently extended the temporary moratorium on the Medicare enrollment of new home health agencies ("HHAs"), subunits, and branch locations in Michigan.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ("CMS") recently announced that they will delay enforcement penalties related to Phase 2 of their revised nursing home Requirements for Participation (commonly referred to in the industry as the "Mega Rule").
For the past decade, health care has remained one of the most tumultuous and dynamic industries; uncertainty, along with opportunity, are likely to continue in 2017. This three-part series will discuss some of the most important health care trends. This section will focus on some of the largest factors affecting costs and reimbursement in health care: 1) MACRA Implementation; 2) Medicaid Reimbursement; 3) Shifting Payment Models; and 4) Drug Pricing.
Governor Snyder recently signed into law Public Act 22 (Senate Bill 213), which revises the 2016 telehealth bill to clarify that health professionals in Michigan may prescribe controlled substances without an in-person examination. Michigan now joins a growing number of states that allow health professionals to prescribe controlled substances via telemedicine.
On April 14, 2017, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued its 2018 Medicare Inpatient Prospective Payment System proposed rule (the “Proposed Rule”). The Proposed Rule was published in the Federal Register on April 28, 2017, and comments will be accepted through June 13, 2017.
The Proposed Rule suggests a number of changes that would affect hospital rates, inpatient quality reporting and readmissions reduction programs. Some of the most significant changes are highlighted below.
Despite controlling the presidency, and both houses of Congress, the Republican’s bid to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) failed. The Republican’s replacement bill - the American Health Care Act (AHCA) - was pulled before proceeding to a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives, as it apparently lacked the votes to pass. Here’s what businesses need to know now that this (first?) attempt to repeal the ACA failed.
Late in the afternoon on March 6, two committees of the U.S. House of Representatives introduced legislation that would replace and repeal significant portions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as the ACA or Obamacare. The new legislation, titled the American Health Care Act, addresses a number of key complaints that have been raised by employers since the ACA's implementation. Several provisions of the new legislation that are of particular interest to employers are described briefly below.
