Author: Alissa Smith

Alissa represents health systems, hospitals, pharmacies, long-term care providers, home health agencies and medical practices, as well as nonprofit and municipal organizations. Alissa’s transactional practice includes contracts, leases, mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures. Alissa’s regulatory practice includes the interpretation and application of state and federal fraud and abuse laws, Medicare and Medicaid rules, tax-exemption laws, HIPAA and privacy laws, EMTALA laws, licensing matters, employment laws, governmental audits and open records and open meetings matters. She also assists with corporate and health system governance issues, including the revision and negotiation of medical staff bylaws.

At Long Last, CMS Issues Proposed Guidance on Hospital Co-Locations

For years, CMS has informally applied restrictions for hospitals which share space, equipment, staff or services in the same physical location (i.e., “co-locate”) with other hospitals or health care entities.  Although these sub-regulatory interpretations by CMS were not formal guidance, the penalties were so severe that many hospitals unwound the co-location or shared services arrangements...

CMS’s New “Primary Cares Initiative” Places Primary Care at the Center of the Shift to Value-Based Care

On April 22, 2019, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced two sweeping new payment innovation models under the Primary Cares Initiatives. The models will seek to incentivize primary care and other providers to take on greater responsibility and risk for the lives of covered beneficiaries. Both new models are scheduled to be...

Federal Government’s Charges against 60 Medical Personnel for Illegal Prescribing and Distributing of Opioids Demonstrates Continued Focus on Compliance throughout Supply-Chain

Today, the Federal Government announced enforcement actions against 60 defendants in eleven federal districts, including 31 doctors, seven pharmacists, eight nurse practitioners, and seven other licensed medical professional for allegedly prescribing and distribution opioids and other dangerous narcotics and for health care fraud schemes. (DOJ Press Release, April 17, 2019). The charges involve over 350,000...

CMS “Actively Working” on Stark Law Reforms to be Issued Later this Year; “Regulatory Sprint to Coordinated Care” Continues

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is “actively working” on updates to regulations under the federal physician self-referral law (or “Stark Law”), according to CMS Administrator Seema Verma during a March 4, 2019 speech. Verma stated that the updated regulations will be issued later this year, and “will represent the most significant changes...

Drug Rebates Threatened Under Proposed Anti-kickback Rule

The Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services (“OIG”) released a proposed rule to eliminate safe harbor protection under the anti-kickback statute for drug price reductions that pharmaceutical manufacturers pay to Medicare and Medicaid plan sponsors and their pharmacy benefit managers (“PBMs”). The OIG proposed replacing the current safe harbor...

OIG Seeks Public Input on Anti-Kickback Statute and Beneficiary Inducements CMP as part of the “Regulatory Sprint to Coordinated Care”

The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) has identified the anti-kickback statute (AKS) and beneficiary inducements civil monetary penalty (CMP) as potential barriers to arrangements that could promote better patient care coordination and value-based arrangements.  On August 27, 2018, the OIG published a Request for Information (RFI) seeking input...

President Trump Gives Speech on Prescription Drug Prices and Releases Blueprint to Lower Drug Prices and Reduce Out-of-Pocket Costs

On May 11, 2018, President Trump gave his long-awaited speech on his administration’s plan to lower prescription drug prices. In addition, the administration published its Blueprint to Lower Drug Prices and Reduce Out-of-Pocket costs. The blueprint can be found here.  The blueprint focuses on four areas for reform including strategies to: (1) improve competition; (2)...

Iowa Legislature Sends Bill Imposing Additional Requirements for Prescription Monitoring Program Reporting to Governor for Signature

  Last week, with bipartisan support, both the Iowa House and Senate passed, unanimously, HF 2377   (“An Act Relating to the Regulation of Certain Substances, Including the Regulation of the Practice of Pharmacy, Providing Penalties, and Including Effective Date Provisions”). The bill is expected to be signed into law by the Governor in the coming days....

FDA Chief and HHS Secretary Cite Prescription Drug Prices as Top Priorities for Agencies; President Trump Scheduled to Speak on Issue on May 11, 2018.

All eyes are on the federal government as top officials have recently signaled upcoming actions which could impact the prices of prescription drugs. In the past two weeks, leaders from both the FDA and HHS have made statements signaling that the agencies are focused on reducing prescription drug prices. In remarks at the Food and...

How HHS’s New Division in the Office for Civil Rights Will Enforce Rights of Conscience and Religious Freedom

    When the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) announced a new Conscience and Religious Freedom Division in the HHS Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”), it framed a problem and a solution. The press release stated that “fundamental and unalienable rights of conscience and religious freedom” are not being fully enforced on...