The CARES Act establishes a new loan program for small businesses during the period starting on March 1, 2020, and ending on December 31, 2020, and in certain situations forgiveness of such loan, which many health care providers and suppliers should review. Known as “7(a) Paycheck Protection Program loans” (“PPP Loans”), businesses in the health …
CARES Act Expands Funding and Medicare Coverage For Telehealth Services
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act, recently passed by Congress and signed into law by President Trump, provides a number of important expansions of telehealth coverage during the public health emergency affecting those in rural areas and home health care patients and establishes significant funding for enhancement of telehealth services by updating …
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SUD Program Privacy Rules Modified by CARES ACT
In this country, people who need Substance Use Disorder (SUD) treatment often choose not to pursue professional treatment, not because of the cost, but because there is a societal negative stigma attached to the disease. In 1975, the federal government acted to eliminate the stigma and simultaneously encourage people suffering from SUD to voluntarily ask …
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Temporary Relaxation of Supervision and Credential Requirements for Healthcare Providers
On March 29, 2020, Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued Executive Order 2020-30 temporarily suspending a number of supervision and credential requirements applicable to healthcare providers. These changes are intended to remain in effect during the public health emergency resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and apply only to healthcare providers currently in possession of a license in …
Compliance Outside of Health Care
Many providers are familiar with compliance in a health care context. They know to make agreements compliant with the Stark Law and the Anti-Kickback Statute, for instance. But the keys to a good compliance system (policies and procedures, designation of a compliance officer/committee, training and education, communication, ethics and culture, top-down compliance, enforcement, auditing and …
CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) PRECAUTIONS FOR EMPLOYERS
It is now impossible to avoid the reality that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19, the “coronavirus”), is a “public health emergency of international concern,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”).[i] As of publication, the coronavirus is not spreading in the community in the United States.[ii] The CDC reports that the immediate …
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Pumping the Brakes: Amendments to Michigan’s No-Fault Act and the Effect on Health Care Providers
This article was originally published on February 6, 2020. It has been revised to include additional guidance provided by the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (“DIFS”). In 2019, Michigan enacted amendments to the No-Fault Act (the “Act”), MCL 500.3101 et seq., that will affect the way health care practitioners provide services and are …
Kicking Off 2020 with Anti-Kickback Statute and Stark Law Reforms: What You Need to Know
You’ve probably heard that every provider’s favorite laws, the Anti-Kickback Statute and its related, strict liability counterpart, the Stark Law (formally known as the Physician Self-Referral Law), are getting a makeover from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Here’s what you need to know. Quick Legal Refresher: (A) What is the Anti-Kickback Statute? …
Between Absolute and Amorphous: The Draft Guidelines on Vertical Mergers: Commentary on the Draft 2020 Guidelines
Businesses at different levels in the supply chain of a product choose to merge (“vertical mergers,” compared with “horizontal mergers” where business at the same level in the supply chain merge) for a variety of reasons, many of which can be beneficial to competition and/or consumers. Vertical mergers can lead to efficiencies in supply chains, …
There is a New Sheriff in Town: Class Action Enforcement and Implementation of the 2008 Parity Act
In 2008, Congress enacted the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addition Equity Act (“Parity Act”). In essence, the Parity Act necessitates that financial requirements and treatment limitations imposed on mental health and substance use disorder benefits cannot be more restrictive than the financial requirements and treatment limitations that apply to medical/surgical …