Health Care Counsel Blog

800 total results. Page 4 of 32.

Anne M. Murphy, Jill A. Steinberg, Gayland O. Hethcoat II
Since the US Supreme Court ruled in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (Dobbs) in June 2022, the impact of the Court’s decision continues to ripple across the health care delivery system. In this multi-part series, we will examine key components of a risk assessment framework,
Caroline Turner English, Alison Lima Andersen, D. Austin Rettew
In late September 2022, health care providers in Texas sued the Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services (collectively, the Departments) over a recently issued final rule implementing the federal No Surprises Act (the NSA).
Stephanie Trunk
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued its annual final rules related to both the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment Systems for calendar year 2023 (the HOPPS Final Rule) and the Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule (the PFS Final Rule)
Jill A. Steinberg, Emily M. Leongini, Hillary M. Stemple, Shoshana Golden
On November 18, 2022, a collection of organizations and providers that oppose abortion filed suit against the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), seeking — among other things — a permanent injunction.
Hillary M. Stemple, Gayland O. Hethcoat II
Most violations of the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) are addressed through administrative enforcement action.
Cissy Jackson, Daniel Sjostedt*
The 2022 midterms have concluded, but the Republican underperformance is not expected to dampen Congressional enthusiasm for Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) reform. The issue remains at the forefront of the healthcare pricing debate.
D. Jacques Smith, Randall A. Brater, Mohammed T. Farooqui, Laura Zell
Headlines that Matter for Companies and Executives in Regulated Industries
Debra Albin-Riley
Whether you represent a doctor or a hospital and its medical staff, simultaneous retaliation lawsuits and administrative peer review hearings present special challenges. 
Gayland O. Hethcoat II
Algorithmic tools, including machine learning and other artificial intelligence technologies, are becoming more common in the health care sector for predicting health outcomes and influencing clinicians' decision making.
Sarah G. Benator, Fernanda Sanchez Jara
As part of advancing the independent scope of practice for nurse practitioners, California has revised its statutory scheme to further refine practice expectations.
Stephanie Trunk
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the first in what undoubtedly will be a series of guidance documents regarding the recently enacted Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). 
Gayland O. Hethcoat II
In Advisory Opinion 22-17, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) concluded that a proposed restructuring of a loan and other contractual relationships between a health system and a federally qualified health center (FQHC) “look-alike” clinic.
Sarah G. Benator, Fernanda Sanchez Jara
The California Board of Registered Nursing released proposed regulations setting forth requirements for the new categories of nurse practitioners created in 2020 by Assembly Bill 890, pushing nurse practitioners closer to an independent scope of practice.
Debra Albin-Riley, Lowell C. Brown
In response to multiple requests from California hospital industry members, the California Court of Appeal ordered publication of its decision in Bonni v. St. Joseph Health System et al. This important decision is a victory for peer reviewers because it establishes significant protections.
Jill A. Steinberg, Hillary M. Stemple, Fernanda Sanchez Jara
A pair of reports recently issued by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) highlight the important role telehealth services have played in ensuring access to medical services and care for Medicare beneficiaries during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Caroline Turner English, Alison Lima Andersen, D. Austin Rettew
On August 19, 2022, the US Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury, as well as the Office of Personnel Management, released a highly-anticipated final rule clarifying the procedures and considerations for resolving disputes related to surprise medical bills.
Thomas E. Jeffry, Jr., Gayland O. Hethcoat II
The recently unveiled California Health and Human Services Data Exchange Framework (the Framework) creates a new regulatory and governance structure to promote the exchange of health information between health care providers in California.
Michele L. Gipp, Jo-Ann Marchica
In an effort to reorganize, the New York Department of Health (NYDOH) has formed a new Office of Aging & Long Term Care (OALTC), which would oversee long term care and senior living facilities in New York.
Stephanie Trunk
After many years of policy debate and attempts at proposed legislation, some of the most meaningful changes to the ways in which Medicare pays for prescription drugs – and the obligations of manufacturers selling drugs to Medicare beneficiaries - have finally come to pass.
Lowell C. Brown, Gayland O. Hethcoat II, Jill A. Steinberg
In a newly filed lawsuit against the State of Idaho, the federal government argues that Idaho’s “near-total ban on abortion,” scheduled to take effect on August 25, 2022, overreaches by prohibiting abortion even where federal law may require physicians to perform an emergency abortion.
Anne M. Murphy
A series of new developments combine to make the broad topic of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing, disclosure, and regulation more relevant to the not-for-profit healthcare sector (Sector).
Stephanie Trunk
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its annual proposed rule related to the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment Systems for 2023 (the HOPPS Proposed Rule) on July 26, 2022.
Douglas A. Grimm, Hillary M. Stemple, Gayland O. Hethcoat II, Fernanda Sanchez Jara
On July 20, 2022, the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a Special Fraud Alert cautioning physicians and other health care practitioners to use “heightened scrutiny” when entering into telemedicine arrangements that have “suspect characteristics” of a fraud scheme.
Gayland O. Hethcoat II
The HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently imposed a $50,000 civil monetary penalty on a dental practice that disclosed patient-identifying information in response to a negative online review. The case is a reminder that healthcare providers risk liability for a HIPAA privacy violation.
Lowell C. Brown, Jill A. Steinberg, Gayland O. Hethcoat II, M.H. Joshua Chiu
According to guidance published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on July 11, 2022, EMTALA, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act of 1986, requires hospitals to provide abortion services when necessary to stabilize a pregnant patient’s emergency medical condition.