We Received a PPP Loan – Now What?

Posted on May 5, 2020 by admin

We Received a PPP Loan—Now What? I wanted to direct everyone over to my law firm’s main website for excellent COVID-19 legal development coverage. Ruder Ware COVID-19 Coverage. With a second round of Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) funding coming available last week, a large percentag...

CMS State Goals in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Posted on April 30, 2020 by admin

CMS has identified its general goals during the COVID-19 pandemic on a few occasions. The most recent was in the April 30, 2020 press release in which CMS introduces new regulatory waivers to assist providers as they emerge from the pandemic. CMS’ identified goals have included: To ensure that ...

The Joint Commission COVID-19 Information Page for Health Care Providers

Posted on April 23, 2020April 29, 2020 by admin

The Joint Commission has issued a Coronavirus (COVID-19) guidance page for hospitals and other organizations who are accredited through that organization. The page contains a letter and a video from the CEO of the Joint Commission, Mark R. Chassin, MD, FACP, MPP, MPH. The Joint Commission Offers ...

Complying with HIPAA and Beyond during COVID-19

Posted on April 22, 2020 by admin

Safeguarding Patient Health Information in an Emergency Situation Even in an emergency situation such as that presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, covered entities must continue to meet their obligations under federal and state laws protecting confidentiality of patient health care information, to...

Coronavirus Checklist for Nursing Homes and Hospitals

Posted on April 16, 2020April 29, 2020 by admin

Follow the links below to download from the CDC. A coronavirus preparedness checklist for hospitals, including long-term acute care hospitals are available from the CDC. Interim Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations for Patients with Confirmed Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) or Per...

Proposed Revisions to the SAMHSA Regulations Would Permit Non-Part 2 Providers to Reference Part 2 Treatment in Patient Records

Posted on September 23, 2019 by admin

Our representation of behavioral health and substance abuse programs has required us to stay in tune to issues involving special confidentiality of patient records under 42 CFR Part 2, also known as the SAMHSA regulations. The SAMHSA regulations were completely recast in two sets of regulatory ...

Congress Creates a Mess by Enacting the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act of 2018

Posted on June 13, 2019 by admin

Congress has activated a new Anti-Kickback law known as Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act of 2018 (commonly referred to as EKRA). The new Anti-Kickback law applies to arrangements involving recovery homes, clinical treatment facilities, and laboratories. Congressional intent for enacting EK...

Apply the 60-Day Rule to Medicaid Overpayments

Posted on May 30, 2019 by admin

The Affordable Care Act requires any person who has received an overpayment from certain defined government health programs to report and return the overpayment within 60 days after the overpayment is identified. If an overpayment is not repaid, or if a self-disclosure is not made before the ex...

The Federal Government Really Wants You to Take Self Disclose

Posted on May 28, 2019 by admin

The Department of Justice (DOJ) along with other health care fraud enforcement agencies, continue to send strong signals that they want businesses to police themselves for potential compliance issues and self-disclose where infractions are found. The fact of the matter is the government simply ...

The Essence of Compliance – Compliance Officer Authority and Resource Allocation

Posted on May 24, 2019 by admin

How Are Compliance Budgeting and Compliance Officer Autonomy Tied Together When Assessing Compliance Effectiveness? The Department of Justice (“DOJ”)’s compliance program evaluation identifies the need to allocate sufficient revenues to the compliance program as one of the key issues that i...