Kyle Gregory

Two rules both alike in dignity: CMS and ONC release proposed rules to advance interoperability

By Paulette Thomas and Kyle Gregory on April 8, 2019 Posted in Uncategorized

On Feb. 11, 2019, two Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) agencies, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), released their long-awaited proposed rules designed to further HHS’ goal of promoting electronic health information interoperability and implementing many of the provisions … Continue Reading

OIG Report Estimates CMS Paid Millions in Erroneous Meaningful Use Incentives

By Kyle Gregory and Vimala Devassy on June 28, 2017 Posted in Uncategorized

On June 12, 2017 the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report entitled Medicare Paid Hundreds of Millions in Electronic Health Record Incentive Payments That Did Not Comply With Federal Requirements (Report) which estimates that between May 2011 and June 2014, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services … Continue Reading

Welcome to the Future: HHS Releases Final Rule to Modernize Protections for Clinical Trial Participants

By Kyle Gregory and Payal Cramer on February 2, 2017 Posted in Uncategorized

The Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects, or the “Common Rule,” governs the ethical conduct of research involving human subjects and is funded through various federal agencies. On January 19, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in collaboration with 15 other federal agencies (the Agencies) issued a Final Rule to update the Common … Continue Reading

Federal Court Enjoins Part of ACA Final Non-Discrimination Rule

By Amy Fouts and Kyle Gregory on January 20, 2017 Posted in Uncategorized

On December 31, 2016, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a nationwide injunction in Franciscan Alliance, Inc. v. Burwell, N.D. Tex., No. 16-cv-108, holding that portions of the final rule issued by the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR), which sought to operationalize Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), … Continue Reading

Resistance Is Futile: CMS Gets Serious About Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria

By Kyle Gregory, Greg Fosheim and Emily Crosby on December 12, 2016 Posted in Uncategorized

Antibiotics and similar drugs, known more broadly as antimicrobial agents, are an instrumental weapon in the healthcare armory, rendering once-lethal infections treatable, and dramatically reducing instances of sepsis and secondary infections associated with cancer chemotherapy and organ transplants. However, sub-therapeutic use of antimicrobial agents in livestock, over-prescription, bacterial evolution and myriad other factors have contributed … Continue Reading

The Deeper Dive: Section 1557 Attempts to Return the “Care” to “Healthcare”

By Amy Fouts, Greg Fosheim and Kyle Gregory on October 10, 2016 Posted in Uncategorized

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) moved to the forefront of anti-discrimination measures when it released a final rule, titled “Nondiscrimination in Health Programs and Activities” (Final Rule), implementing Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which prohibits discrimination on the grounds of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability in … Continue Reading

FY 2017 IPPS Proposed Rule Results in Modest Increase for Hospitals

By Amy Fouts, Ernessa McKie and Kyle Gregory on May 13, 2016 Posted in Uncategorized

CMS recently issued a proposed rule updating fiscal year (FY) 2017 Medicare payment policies and rates under the Medicare inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) and the long-term care hospital (LTCH) prospective payment system. Highlights of the proposed rule applicable to IPPS hospitals are the focus of this summary. With the proposed rule, CMS continues to emphasize its … Continue Reading