Dorsey Health Law Blog

New Opportunities for Hiring Foreign Physicians in Shortage Areas

The Dorsey Health Law blog team keeps readers up-to-date on relevant topics in the health care industry. In order to do so, the members of the blog team communicate regularly with other practice groups within the firm for applicable updates from client publications. For this post, we would like to thank Dorsey’s Robert Webber, Ieva...

False Claims Act Exposure for Beneficiaries of the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Relief Fund: Mitigating Risks of Ambiguous Terms & Conditions

The Dorsey Health Law blog team keeps readers up-to-date on relevant topics in the health care industry. In order to do so, the members of the blog team communicate regularly with other practice groups within the firm for applicable updates from client publications. For this post, we would like to thank Andrew Brantingham, Ross C....

CMS Expands Emergency Declaration Blanket Waivers for Health Care Providers

As we described in our prior blog post, on March 30, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) published multiple COVID-19 Blanket Waivers for Health Care Providers. CMS announced another round of Blanket Waivers on April 30, which are available here. These waivers provide additional flexibility to health care providers responding to the...

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...

The Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act: Summary of “Phase 3.5” COVID-19 Stimulus Package

On Friday, April 24, 2020, President Trump signed into law the “Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act,” colloquially referred to as “Phase 3.5.” Phase 3.5 comes on the heels of three much larger bills passed into law intended to address the effects of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The first three phases, the Coronavirus...

HHS Announces Additional Allocations of CARES Act Provider Relief Fund

On April 22, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) issued a press release outlining the allocation of an additional $70 billion dollars in appropriations allocated by the CARES Act to the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund.  The initial $30B tranche of the total $100 billion provided for under the CARES...

Privacy of Substance Use Disorder Records and The CARES Act: Steps Toward Harmonizing Part 2 Privacy Laws with HIPAA

The recently-enacted Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) is generally known for providing relief funds and other resources to help individuals, small businesses, state and local governments, and hospitals and healthcare providers address the COVID-19 public health emergency.  However, among the lesser-known of the CARES Act provisions are changes to federal...

Untimely Dispensing Allegations Against Pharmacies Stricken in Opioid Litigation

As the world grapples with the health crisis caused by COVID-19, litigation regarding a different health crisis—the opioid epidemic—continues to progress (see our previous posts on this topic here and here). In a major development last week for the multidistrict litigation, the Sixth Circuit concluded that key bellwether cases against twelve large pharmacy chains may...