May 11, 2023
On April 17, 2023, the Department of Health and Human Services (the “Department”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) proposing to expand protections afforded by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule following recent legal events involving reproductive health care.[1]
This NPRM aims to strengthen the Privacy Rule protections by prohibiting…
April 21, 2023
West Virginia Health Law 2023 Legislative Update
The 2023 Regular Session of the West Virginia Legislature was not short on headlines, and bills impacting the health care industry often took center stage. During the last week of March 2023, all completed legislation that the governor had not already signed became law. This occurred via a West Virginia constitutional provision that automatically…
December 16, 2022
In December 2020, Congress passed what is known as the No Surprises Act (NSA) in an effort to protect patients from surprise billing or unexpected fees. The Act prohibits out-of-network providers from “balance billing” patients for charges above the rates paid by their health plan if the provider is providing emergency services or is providing non-emergency services at an in-network facility.…
October 6, 2022
Telehealth is a growing trend in medicine. From 2019 to 2020, telehealth use increased an eye-popping 3000%, not including Medicaid and Medicare claims. Although the claims have decreased slightly as of 2021, telehealth is clearly here to stay and with it comes new challenges.
What is Telehealth?
For the purposes of Medicare, “telehealth services” are “professional consultations, office visits,…
August 25, 2022
Earlier this summer, the Supreme Court issued an opinion in Becerra v. Empire Health Foundation, a case where a hospital challenged the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) interpretation of a 2004 regulation affecting the way Medicare’s disproportionate share hospital (“DSH”) adjustments are calculated. The Supreme Court upheld HHS’s interpretation, much to the disappointment of the…
July 12, 2022
West Virginia’s Medical Professional Liability Act (MPLA), W. Va. Code 55-7B-6(b), provides that at least thirty days before filing suit, a claimant must serve two pre-suit documents - a Notice of Claim and a Certificate of Merit - on each health care provider they intend to sue. Timely compliance with the statute can “toll” or extend the applicable statute of limitations. In Adkins v. Clark, No.…
May 6, 2022
Beginning January 1, 2023, the Colorado Option Plan will go into effect. Under the Colorado Option Plan, private insurers will be required to offer a standardized insurance plan that offers certain health care services and dictates the services that insureds could receive without paying towards the deductible to the counties in which insurers already sell plans to the individual and small group…
October 27, 2021
Congress enacted the No Surprises Act (the “Act”) to protect patients against “surprise bills,” while at the same time respecting a provider’s ability to receive remuneration for services rendered. In this third installment of the series (first installment and second installment), we provide an update that the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) together with the Department of Labor…
August 17, 2021
As detailed in an earlier blog post, Congress enacted the No Surprises Act (“Act”) to protect patients against “surprise bills.” A surprise bill occurs when a patient receives health care services from an out-of-network provider. It can occur in both emergency and non-emergency situations, although frequently it occurs during emergency situations when a patient does not choose the facility or…
June 9, 2021
House Bill 21-1232 or the “public option bill” is before the Colorado legislature for the second time and the numerous rounds of rewrites have changed the character of the bill itself. Initially proposed as a public health insurance plan offered by the state, the bill now seeks to mandate a standardized health insurance plan that is operated by private insurers. If approved, the public option…
May 13, 2021
On May 10, 2021, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) will interpret and enforce Section 1557 and Title IX’s prohibition on discrimination based on sex to include both (1) discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and (2) discrimination on the basis of gender identity.
OCR is responsible for enforcing Section 1557 of the…
December 14, 2020
On November 20th, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) made sweeping changes to the Stark Law through the issuance of a new “Final Rule,” which is an essential mile-marker in the government’s Sprint to Coordinated Care. Many industry stakeholders have been eagerly awaiting the Final Rule’s issuance, hoping that it would provide more flexibility and clarity to this complex…
May 11, 2023
On April 17, 2023, the Department of Health and Human Services (the “Department”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) proposing to expand protections afforded by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule following recent legal events involving reproductive health care.[1]
This NPRM aims to strengthen the Privacy Rule protections by prohibiting…
April 21, 2023
West Virginia Health Law 2023 Legislative Update
The 2023 Regular Session of the West Virginia Legislature was not short on headlines, and bills impacting the health care industry often took center stage. During the last week of March 2023, all completed legislation that the governor had not already signed became law. This occurred via a West Virginia constitutional provision that automatically…
December 16, 2022
In December 2020, Congress passed what is known as the No Surprises Act (NSA) in an effort to protect patients from surprise billing or unexpected fees. The Act prohibits out-of-network providers from “balance billing” patients for charges above the rates paid by their health plan if the provider is providing emergency services or is providing non-emergency services at an in-network facility.…
October 6, 2022
Telehealth is a growing trend in medicine. From 2019 to 2020, telehealth use increased an eye-popping 3000%, not including Medicaid and Medicare claims. Although the claims have decreased slightly as of 2021, telehealth is clearly here to stay and with it comes new challenges.
What is Telehealth?
For the purposes of Medicare, “telehealth services” are “professional consultations, office visits,…
August 25, 2022
Earlier this summer, the Supreme Court issued an opinion in Becerra v. Empire Health Foundation, a case where a hospital challenged the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) interpretation of a 2004 regulation affecting the way Medicare’s disproportionate share hospital (“DSH”) adjustments are calculated. The Supreme Court upheld HHS’s interpretation, much to the disappointment of the…
July 12, 2022
West Virginia’s Medical Professional Liability Act (MPLA), W. Va. Code 55-7B-6(b), provides that at least thirty days before filing suit, a claimant must serve two pre-suit documents - a Notice of Claim and a Certificate of Merit - on each health care provider they intend to sue. Timely compliance with the statute can “toll” or extend the applicable statute of limitations. In Adkins v. Clark, No.…
May 6, 2022
Beginning January 1, 2023, the Colorado Option Plan will go into effect. Under the Colorado Option Plan, private insurers will be required to offer a standardized insurance plan that offers certain health care services and dictates the services that insureds could receive without paying towards the deductible to the counties in which insurers already sell plans to the individual and small group…
October 27, 2021
Congress enacted the No Surprises Act (the “Act”) to protect patients against “surprise bills,” while at the same time respecting a provider’s ability to receive remuneration for services rendered. In this third installment of the series (first installment and second installment), we provide an update that the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) together with the Department of Labor…
August 17, 2021
As detailed in an earlier blog post, Congress enacted the No Surprises Act (“Act”) to protect patients against “surprise bills.” A surprise bill occurs when a patient receives health care services from an out-of-network provider. It can occur in both emergency and non-emergency situations, although frequently it occurs during emergency situations when a patient does not choose the facility or…
June 9, 2021
House Bill 21-1232 or the “public option bill” is before the Colorado legislature for the second time and the numerous rounds of rewrites have changed the character of the bill itself. Initially proposed as a public health insurance plan offered by the state, the bill now seeks to mandate a standardized health insurance plan that is operated by private insurers. If approved, the public option…
May 13, 2021
On May 10, 2021, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) will interpret and enforce Section 1557 and Title IX’s prohibition on discrimination based on sex to include both (1) discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and (2) discrimination on the basis of gender identity.
OCR is responsible for enforcing Section 1557 of the…
December 14, 2020
On November 20th, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) made sweeping changes to the Stark Law through the issuance of a new “Final Rule,” which is an essential mile-marker in the government’s Sprint to Coordinated Care. Many industry stakeholders have been eagerly awaiting the Final Rule’s issuance, hoping that it would provide more flexibility and clarity to this complex…
