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Healthcare Employers Spared Burden of FFCRA By Last Minute DOL Guidance
/in Healthcare Law, LegislationBy Bradley Cave
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act created a bizarre contradiction for healthcare employers. While hospitals, clinics and other patient care providers worked under great strain to care for patients, with COVID-19 and other maladies, the Act would have permitted employees of healthcare providers to be absent from work, sometimes with pay, in some situations for up to 12 weeks. Saturday afternoon, the DOL issued new guidance to greatly expand the scope of employees that healthcare providers can exclude from the leave rights under FFCRA, sparing providers from crippling staff shortages during this pandemic.
FFCRA permitted employers to elect to exclude healthcare providers and emergency responders from the leave rights created by the act. However, the act did not define emergency responder, and borrowed the FMLA’s narrow definition of healthcare provider. As the act was written, healthcare employers could exclude only doctors, nurse practitioners and physicians’ assistants, along with a handful of other licensed professionals, from the leave rights under the act. Notably, RNs, LPNs and CNAs were not on the list of employees that could be excluded, nor were pharmacists, pharmacy techs, any type of therapists, or any of the support staff necessary to operate a hospital, nursing home or medical practice. Read more
Health Provisions/Medicare & Medicare Extenders/OTC Drugs
/in Hospitals & Health Systems, LegislationBy Karina Sargsian and Kim Stanger
The CARES Act adopts several measures to help stabilize the healthcare system, address health care issues directly and indirectly related to the current pandemic and ensure future preparedness. It also allocates $100 billion of direct funding to help hospitals keep their doors open. Many of the provisions are only tangentially related to the current pandemic, such as re-appropriations for a variety of health programs. Read more
Healthcare Employers and the Families First Coronavirus Response Act
/in Employee Benefits, Employment, LegislationBy Brit (Brittany) Merrill, S. Jordan Walsh, and Bradley Cave
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) was signed into law on March 18, 2020 and becomes effective on April 2, 2020. As part of the FFCRA Congress enacted the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (“Expansion Act”) and the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (“Sick Leave Act”). Sections I and II below summarize how the Expansion Act and the Sick Leave Act will apply to employers generally. Please contact your Holland & Hart attorney for specific questions relating to your workforce. Read more
Telehealth and COVID-19
/in COVID-19, TelehealthBy Kim Stanger
Federal Action. To promote the use of telehealth in response to Coronavirus, the federal government took several significant steps this week:
State Action. Importantly, the federal actions do not remove state law limits on telehealth. Many states impose licensure, technology, consent, or other procedural requirements. Unless waived by state agencies, these state laws must also be considered before launching telehealth services. Read more
HIPAA Tips: Information for Covered Entities and Employers
/in HIPAABy Kristy M. Kimball and Lisa Carlson
What’s the Issue?
Covered entities, such as hospitals and other healthcare providers, may be asked by unrelated third-parties for information relating to a patient’s diagnosis or presumed diagnosis of COVID-19.
The information below outlines how the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) applies to health information obtained or maintained by those subject to HIPAA (e.g., covered entities or business associates of covered entities), but does not cover state-specific privacy laws or employment-specific confidentiality laws. For example, the ADA, FMLA, and workers compensation laws all have confidentiality aspects that will impact employers. Read more