HHS-OIG issued a new Special Fraud Alert on relationships with “purported telemedicine companies” on July 20, 2022. The Special Fraud Alert comes on the heels of a nationally coordinated takedown charging dozens of individuals criminally for their participation in an allegedly fraudulent scheme related to telemedicine, laboratories, and durable medical equipment (“DME”).[1] However, the alert
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Privacy Tip – Health Care Sector Continues to Be Hit with Ransomware
According to the 2022 State of Ransomware Report issued recently by Sophos, it surveyed 5,600 IT professionals from 31 countries, including professionals in the health care sector. Those professionals in the health care sector shared that 66 percent of them had experienced a ransomware attack in 2021, which was an increase of 69 percent over 2020.…
HHS Issues HIPAA Guidance to Support Audio-Only Telehealth Services
By Conor Duffy
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently issued new guidance (Guidance) on the use of remote communication technologies to deliver audio-only telehealth in accordance with HIPAA. Per OCR, the Guidance is intended to ensure continued access for patients to audio-only telehealth in a secure and compliant manner,…
Supreme Court Decides in Favor of 340B Hospitals Regarding Medicare Reimbursement Methodology
On June 15, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of “340B” hospitals in a notable statutory interpretation case concerning how the federal Medicare program reimburses hospitals for prescription drugs. The case, which was brought by the American Hospital Association, arises from reimbursement reductions imposed by the Department of Health and Human Services…
FTC Takes Action to Block Hospital Transactions in Utah and New Jersey
By Conor Duffy
On June 2, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission announced a pair of antitrust enforcement actions to block pending health system transactions that, according to it, would harm competition in the provision of inpatient general acute care hospital services.…
New York State Legislature Passes Act Enacting Moratorium on For-Profit Hospices
On June 2, 2022, the New York State Legislature passed A08472, “An Act to Amend the Public Health Law, in Relation to the Establishment, Incorporation, Construction, or Increase in Capacity of For-Profit Hospice” (“the Act”). The Act prohibits the Public Health and Health Planning Council (PHHPC) of the New York Department of Health (DOH)…
Connecticut Expands OHS Authority
As we have previously written on, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont recently signed into law the state’s budget as Public Act 22-118 (Act), which makes various changes to the Connecticut statutes. Among the changes, the Act expands the authority of Connecticut’s Office of Health Strategy (OHS).…
Connecticut Enacts Legislation Making Various Changes to Public Health Laws
By Conor Duffy
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont recently signed into law Public Act No. 22-58, “An Act Concerning the Department of Public Health’s Recommendations Regarding Various Revisions to the Public Health Statutes” (the Act). The Act is an omnibus bill that includes a number of notable updates to state laws concerning health care and hospitals, certain of…
Connecticut Makes Significant Changes to its Collaborative Drug Therapy Laws
As part of Connecticut’s budget implementer bill (Act) signed into law earlier this month, the state made significant revisions to its laws concerning collaborative drug therapy management agreements between pharmacists and certain prescribing practitioners to expand the (1) types of permitted arrangements; (2) prescribers eligible to participate in the collaborative arrangements with pharmacists; and (3)…
Connecticut Expands Advanced Practice Providers’ Scope of Practice to Include Certain Forms of Abortion
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont recently signed legislation to expand the scope of practice of advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), nurse-midwives, and physician assistants (PAs) to perform certain forms of abortion.…