Hospitals and medical groups that bar staff from communicating with the media should take another look at those prohibitions following a recent federal appellate decision finding such a policy unlawful under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Multiple news accounts have detailed incidents where doctors and nurses were disciplined or fired for speaking out about … Continue Reading
Before closing its 2021 session, the Florida Legislature passed several bills that impact health care, summarized below. The first bill discussed below regarding civil liability became effective on March 29, 2021. The majority of the other bills became effective on July 1, 2021.… Continue Reading
The Florida medical community was left concerned and confused by the passage of the original 2020 pelvic examination law. As we discussed in our past blog, practitioners believed the law was overly burdensome, and they were unsure how to implement it. Senator Lauren Book’s new bill, SB 716, sought to make consent clear through an … Continue Reading
In early July, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Labor (Labor), and the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) (collectively, the Departments), along with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) released an interim final rule related to the No Surprises Act, legislation designed to protect patients from unexpected medical bills. The … Continue Reading
The media has widely reported that several governmental, non-profit, and private organizations, including entities in the healthcare sector, are offering a variety of incentives to encourage more individuals to take the COVID-19 vaccine. While this approach may increase the number of vaccinated individuals, it can also implicate the healthcare fraud and abuse laws when Federal … Continue Reading
At first glance, it appeared that hospitals were complying with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) price transparency requirement, which became effective January 1, 2021. Upon a closer look; however, multiple deficiencies were found. CMS previously advised that it would begin auditing compliance with the rule this past January. Interestingly, it was the … Continue Reading
On March 12, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced a new National Emphasis Program (NEP) designed to significantly reduce worker exposure to COVID-19 by targeting industries and worksites where employees may have a high frequency of close-contact exposures. The new NEP on COVID-19 has two main components: 1. Increases OSHA inspections of … Continue Reading
Cyberattacks against healthcare providers accounted for 79% of all reported data breaches in 2020. (See here). The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) responded last month by releasing a comprehensive guide to protect providers against this growing vulnerability entitled “Healthcare System Cybersecurity Readiness … Continue Reading
The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) continues to take seriously all allegations of violations of the HIPAA right of access to patient medical records. As discussed in a previous blog, the OCR is enforcing patient rights by issuing enforcement actions against healthcare providers who fail to provide patients with timely access to their medical records, … Continue Reading
Good news is here for healthcare providers worried about being left out of COVID-19-related liability protections during the 2021 Florida Legislative Session! The Republican-led Legislature, supported by Governor Ron DeSantis, is upholding its commitment to protect businesses, including healthcare providers, from frivolous lawsuits filed because of exposure to COVID-19. While only a Senate-version of legislation … Continue Reading
Physicians at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit made a “stunning” heart-altering discovery. New and improved magnets in the iPhone 12 (“12”) may cause heart defibrillators and pacemakers to malfunction, particularly when carried in a breast pocket (See publication).… Continue Reading
In early February, Senator Amy Klobuchar, new Chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, introduced the “Competition and Antitrust Law Enforcement Reform Act of 2021″(S225). While the legislation is widely understood to be intended to address perceived shortcomings in the ability of federal authorities to regulate the largest and … Continue Reading
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has sent a clear message to states and providers: they already have the tools to improve healthcare. Through a combination of value-based arrangements and already existing services and supports, states and providers can address the social determinants of health (SDOH). This will lead to an improvement in … Continue Reading
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against pharmacy benefit managers (“PBMs”) last month, in a decision that marks a major win for state regulators. (See Rutledge v. Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, 2020 WL 7250098 (U.S. 2020)). On December 10, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court held that Arkansas’s Act 900, which “effectively requires PBMs to reimburse Arkansas … Continue Reading
Hospitals that are not ready for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) new transparency requirement must act quickly. CMS has advised that the new year will begin with new auditing and monitoring of these requirements.… Continue Reading
Anthem, Inc., (Anthem) and Express Scripts, Inc., (Express Scripts) had a big win this week, creating another setback for plaintiffs filing ERISA lawsuits against pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs). On December 7, 2020, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos’s decision that Anthem and Express Scripts did not violate fiduciary obligations … Continue Reading
There has been a longstanding and regrettable practice in the healthcare industry of pharmaceutical and medical device companies giving physicians gifts as illegal inducements. Concerned about this continued trend, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued important warnings regarding providing inducements to … Continue Reading
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has failed – at least for now – in its efforts to derail a merger between Thomas Jefferson University Health System and Albert Einstein Health System, two Philadelphia-area health systems. In a decision announced on December 8, Judge Pappert, District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, ruled that the … Continue Reading
As the world continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic that has taken the lives of over 250,000 Americans, and worldwide over 1 million people, this year, an effective vaccine has emerged as our silver bullet – a way for the nation, and the world, to fight back and, in time, begin to return to … Continue Reading
During the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth usage has dramatically increased, as discussed in a recent Health Law Rx post. Telehealth makes it easier for individuals who cannot drive, including many minors, to seek necessary care, leading to many questions regarding when “minors” (individuals under 18 years of age) can consent to treatment – when the “disability … Continue Reading
COVID-19 has made healthcare organizations acutely aware of the need to fine-tune their internal safety systems. The National Steering Committee for Patient Safety (NSC), comprised of 27 organizations, has come to the rescue. NSC recently released guidance entitled, “Safer Together: A National Action Plan to Advance Patient Safety” (the Plan). The Plan provides a methodology … Continue Reading
Healthcare providers are generally required by HIPAA to provide patients or their legal representatives with the ability to inspect or obtain copies of their medical records within 30 days of a request (state specific requirements are not addressed herein.) The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has been enforcing this requirement through its Right of Access … Continue Reading
While fighting a surge of new coronavirus infections in many parts of the country, healthcare providers must also be prepared to defend against ransomware. On October 28, 2020, the FBI, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued a joint alert warning of “credible information … Continue Reading
Healthcare practitioners, including medical students, are now prohibited from performing pelvic examinations on female patients without first obtaining written consent, but many specific, logistical questions were left unanswered. The new law became effective July 1, 2020. “[P]elvic exams will now require specific consent, except in cases of emergency, finally halting the wholly inappropriate practice of … Continue Reading
