Perspectives on Hospitals & Health Systems

Partner Anne Murphy authored an article for The Governance Institute titled “Healthcare Board Oversight During the COVID-19 Pandemic.” The article highlights key organizational approaches and risk areas for hospital and health system governing boards to consider during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Health Care Practice Group Co-Leader Douglas Grimm was recently quoted in an International Business Times article discussing the potential destabilization of the US healthcare system as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Health Care Co-Leader Lowell Brown was recently quoted in a Modern Healthcare article. The article reports on the increasing trend of prominent health systems to redeploy specialists who don’t typically treat infectious diseases to care for patients battling COVID-19.

To address the COVID-19 national emergency, hospitals throughout the country are seeking to bolster their ranks of health care providers.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a memorandum to State Survey Agency Directors that provides further guidance regarding survey priorities for health care facilities, providers, and clinical laboratories due to COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses.

Health Care Practice Group Co-Leader Douglas Grimm and Counsel Susanna Hathaway Murphy were recently quoted in an International Business Times article. The article addresses the Coronavirus aftermath and the related impact on the economy and the health care industry.

In response to an executive order by California Governor Gavin Newsom, the California Department of Public Health has issued an All Facilities Letter waiving hospital regulatory requirements and suspending regulatory enforcement until June 30, 2020, with certain exceptions.

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, California has taken the extraordinary action of limiting the regulatory enforcement of most licensed health facility requirements.

Assisted living providers are uniquely impacted by the spread of COVID-19 because they offer a hybrid homelike and health care setting for one of the country’s most vulnerable populations.

On March 16, 2020, the Joint Commission announced that it was suspending all regular surveying due to the COVID-19 national emergency, effective immediately. DNV GL Healthcare followed suit on March 19.

As the spread of COVID-19 accelerates across the United States, hospitals, health systems, and other providers face unique challenges. Arent Fox’s Health Care Group analyzes what you need to know about regulatory changes and guidance from the federal government.

Patient safety is a key priority for hospitals and other providers. Yet, patient safety may be especially challenging for marginalized groups, according to the authors of an article recently published in the International Journal for Equity in Health.

Effective March 13, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) revised its Guidance for Infection Control and Prevention of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Nursing Homes (Revised Guidance).  

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a voluntary model within the Medicare Part D program that would allow certain Part D plans to cap Medicare beneficiaries’ out-of-pocket costs for insulin.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released a memo to Medicare Advantage Organizations and Part D Sponsors to inform them of their obligations and permissible flexibilities related to disasters and emergencies resulting from COVID-19.

In March 2020, Health Care Partner Anne Murphy published an article in AHLA Weekly on compliance considerations when closing a hospital.

In March 2020, Health Care Partner Anne Murphy published an article in AHLA Weekly on compliance considerations when closing a hospital.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a second Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) code to be used by laboratories for the testing and tracking of new cases of the 2019-Novel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced in two letters to State Survey Agencies new guidance for infection control and prevention concerning coronavirus 2019.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is suspending non-emergency inspections in order to allow inspectors to focus on the most serious health and safety threats.

On Tuesday, February 11, 2020, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a complaint against Yale New Haven Hospital.

On February 5, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed removing long-standing prohibitions and eligibility restrictions that had barred many individuals with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) from participating in the Medicare Advantage program.

Spurred by physician sexual misconduct and abuse at high-profile institutions, California now requires clinics, health facilities, and “other entities” to report certain written allegations of a health care professional’s sexual misconduct to the professional’s licensing agency.

The health care industry continues to be a top priority of the Justice Department with respect to False Claims Act enforcement. In the meantime, investment in a robust compliance program may pay off in cooperation credits to mitigate a False Claims violation.

In welcome news to most anyone who supervises, employs, credentials, or is a physician assistant, amendments to California Business and Professions Code Section 3500 et seq., effective January 1, 2020, significantly simplify the supervision requirements for PAs in California.