Category: COVID-19

CMS Provides Additional COVID-19 EMTALA Guidance for Hospitals

On March 9, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued a memorandum describing hospitals’ continuing obligations with respect to the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (“EMTALA”) during the COVID-19 public health emergency (“PHE”). Check out our previous blog post on this topic here. Last week, in response to a growing number...

CMS Issues Explanatory Guidance on Stark Law Blanket Waivers

As we explained in our prior blog post, on March 30, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued certain blanket waivers of sanctions under the federal physician self-referral law (or “Stark Law”) for “COVID-19 Purposes” (the “Stark Blanket Waivers”), which are available here. On April 21, 2020, CMS issued explanatory guidance, available...

The “War” Between Out-of-Network Providers and Insurers Spreads Into COVID-19 Territory

ERISA litigators know that a war has been raging between “out-of-network” medical providers, on one hand, and the entities that insure and administer group health plans, on the other (collectively, “Insurers”). For years, out-of-network providers have been suing plans and Insurers claiming they were “underpaid” for their medical services, often to the tune of millions...

OIG Initiatives to Ease Provider Burdens Related to COVID-19

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) has taken numerous steps to minimize regulatory burdens for providers who need to make their primary focus delivering patient care during the COVID-19 national emergency. These steps, along with recent steps taken by other agencies to provide temporary regulatory flexibility, provide further...

Medicare Payment Rules Changed to Allow Broad Use of Remote Communications Technology

On Monday, April 6th the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) adopted an interim final rule to change a wide range of Medicare payment policies during the COVID-19 public health emergency so that Medicare providers and suppliers have flexibility to furnish services to beneficiaries using remote communications technology. As healthcare providers implement infection prevention...

Stark Law Blanket Waivers Related to “COVID-19 Purposes” Announced

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to rapid and drastic changes to health care delivery in the United States, including as it relates to arrangements between health care providers and physicians that may implicate the federal physician self-referral law, or “Stark Law.” On March 30, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued much-anticipated...

Accelerated and Advance Payments: Financial Relief for Medicare Participating Providers & Suppliers – A COVID-Prompted CMS Announcement

With the aim of enabling providers to focus attention and resources on fighting the COVID1-19 pandemic, CMS announced over the weekend that it intends to alleviate some of Medicare participating providers’ and suppliers’ financial burden by expanding its Medicare accelerated and advance payment (AAP) program to a broader group of Medicare Part A providers and...

CARES Act Summary of Provisions that Support America’s Health Care System

On March 27, 2020, the President signed into law the “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act’’ (“CARES Act”). The CARES Act is the third phase of the federal government’s response to the coronavirus following two other laws to support American families and address health sector needs that were approved on March 6, 2020 (Phase...