By Robert Ayers
On June 10, OSHA announced two significant developments in the ongoing saga of COVID-19 restrictions in the workplace. First, OSHA issued an emergency temporary standard (ETS) applicable to healthcare settings. Second, OSHA updated its COVID-19 guidance for all other non-healthcare settings. Continue reading
By Kim Stanger
Idaho has joined several other states in revamping requirements for physician assistants (aka physician associates) effective July 1, 2021. The new law removes the requirement for individually identified supervising physicians and delegation of services agreements in favor of general oversight and/or collaborative practice agreements. Continue reading
by Little West and Kaitlyn Luck
On April 5, 2021, the Governor of New Mexico signed Senate Bill 152 (SB152) into law. SB 152 amends the Continuing Care Act (Section 24-17-4 NMSA 1978, (the Act) to address issues that have arisen involving the solvency of Continuing Care Communities, with little or no equity to cover shortfalls, and the disproportionate impacts that occur from the need to relocate residents on very short notice. Continue reading
By Kim Stanger
The HIPAA privacy and security rules impose significant requirements on covered entities and their business associates; violations may result in penalties ranging from $119 to $59,522 per violation. (45 CFR § 160.404; 45 CFR § 102.3; 85 FR 2879). “Business associates” are generally those entities that create, receive, maintain or transmit protected health information (“PHI”) on behalf of a covered entity (45 § CFR 160.103, definition of business associate); thus, most entities that handle data for healthcare providers or their business associates will become business associates and subject to HIPAA requirements, including data storage, data transmission, and cloud services providers unless an exception applies. Continue reading
By Kim Stanger
Under the federal Stark law, hospitals and other healthcare employers may require that employed or contracted physicians refer items or services to the hospital or another designated provider subject to certain limits. (42 CFR § 411.354(d)(4); see https://www.hollandhart.com/requiring-referrals-from-employees-and-contractors). Effective January 19, 2021, CMS modified the rules for such directed referral requirements in physician agreements. If they have not done so, hospitals and other providers will need to update their physician agreements if they want to require employed or contracted physicians to refer designated health services to the employer. Continue reading
By Kim Stanger
With limited exceptions,1 HIPAA generally gives individuals the right to access or obtain copies of their protected health information (“PHI”) from covered entities. (45 CFR § 164.524(a)). But the right of access does not apply to all PHI that a covered entity might have; instead, individuals only have a right to access information in their “designated record set”. This article summarizes relevant standards for determining which records patients have a right to access. Continue reading
On December 10, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced proposed changes to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule to support individuals’ engagement in their care, remove barriers to coordinated care, and reduce regulatory burdens on the healthcare industry. The Holland & Hart Healthcare Group shares this important update from HHS for your information:
Read the HHS Update.
We will continue to monitor this news and will provide more in-depth insights on the impacts of the proposed modifications.
By Kim Stanger, J. Malcolm DeVoy, and Amber Ellis
On November 20, 2020, CMS and the OIG published their much anticipated amendments to the federal Stark and Anti-Kickback laws. As summarized in our recent client alert, the changes open the door to value-based contracting with potential referral sources. They also modify existing regulations and create new safe harbors applicable to provider relationships.
On December 3, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a fourth amendment to the Declaration under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act) to increase access to critical countermeasures against COVID-19. The Holland & Hart Healthcare Group shares this important update from HHS for your information:
We will continue to monitor this news and will provide more in-depth insights on the impacts of this amendment.
By Amber Ellis and J. Malcolm DeVoy
On November 20, 2020 the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued two final rules to modernize and clarify the Physician Self-Referral regulations (the Stark Law, or Stark) and the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) safe harbor regulations. These new final rules generally take effect on January 19, 2021.
The prior Stark and AKS regulations were developed in a volume-based health care delivery and payment system. Over time, and with the rise of data that could be used by providers and payers to better anticipate patient needs and payment for them, concern arose that the existing regulations and policies would potentially inhibit the innovation necessary for moving toward a value-based system of care and payment. These new final rules aim to alleviate those concerns and advance the transition to value-based care and encourage the coordination of care among providers, while continuing to provide important safeguards to protect against fraud, abuse, and overutilization. Continue reading