Tag Archives: HHS

HHS Proposes Rule Strengthening Section 1557 Protections Against Nondiscrimination in Health Activities

Photo of Justin ChavezPhoto of Vimala DevassyBy Justin Chavez and Vimala Devassy on Posted in Healthcare
On Aug. 4, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published its proposed rule, Nondiscrimination in Health Care and Activities (Proposed Rule), to revise its regulations pertaining to Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The aim of Section 1557 is to ensure access to health care and coverage in certain health programs … Continue Reading

HHS, DOL and Treasury Say Limiting Birth Control Coverage Violates Federal Law

Photo of Amy FoutsPhoto of Claire BassBy Amy Fouts and Claire Bass on Posted in Healthcare
Authored by: Amy E. Fouts (Partner) and Claire M. Bass (Associate) On July 28, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), alongside the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Department of Treasury, warned that limiting coverage of contraceptives following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs violates the Affordable Care Act (ACA).… Continue Reading

Stark and AKS Rules Cross the Finish Line of HHS Regulatory Sprint

Photo of Kristen McDermott WoodrumPhoto of Kimberly RuarkBy Kristen McDermott Woodrum and Kimberly Ruark on Posted in Healthcare
With a bold finish, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) crossed the finish line of its race to modernize and clarify the regulations interpreting the federal physician self-referral law (Stark) and anti-kickback statute (AKS) through final rules released Nov. 20, 2020. With one exception, the Stark and AKS rules, based on October 2019 … Continue Reading

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

Photo of Kyle GregoryBy Paulette Thomas and Kyle Gregory on 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

Senate Democrats recently introduced the Stop Price Gouging Act

Photo of Lee H. RosebushPhoto of Nicholas C. MowbrayPhoto of Chris JonesBy Lee H. Rosebush, Nicholas C. Mowbray and Chris Jones on Posted in Healthcare
Senate Democrats recently introduced the Stop Price Gouging Act (S. 378), which seeks to place an excise tax on pharmaceutical companies in proportion to price spikes on prescription drugs. The bill generally requires a company to justify to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) any spike in prescription drug prices, but it is … Continue Reading

Capitol Hill Healthcare Update

Photo of Mike FergusonPhoto of Chris JonesPhoto of Adam HigginsPhoto of Tyler ThompsonBy Mike Ferguson, Chris Jones, Adam Higgins and Tyler Thompson on Posted in Uncategorized
House Plans CHIP Vote This Week but Final Action Not Likely Until December House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said lawmakers will vote this week on legislation to renew federal funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), even amid unresolved partisan disagreements over how to pay for it. Republicans and Democrats on the House … Continue Reading

Capitol Hill Healthcare Update

Photo of Mike FergusonPhoto of Chris JonesPhoto of Adam HigginsPhoto of Tyler ThompsonBy Mike Ferguson, Chris Jones, Adam Higgins and Tyler Thompson on Posted in Uncategorized
White House Eyes Panel on Drug Prices While Senators Call for Transparency President Donald Trump is considering appointing lawmakers to a bipartisan commission that would develop strategies to lower prescription drug prices, while senators last week called for greater transparency into how medicines are priced. Trump has been sharply critical of the pharmaceutical industry, including … Continue Reading

Capitol Hill Healthcare Update

Photo of Mike FergusonPhoto of Chris JonesPhoto of Adam HigginsPhoto of Tyler ThompsonBy Mike Ferguson, Chris Jones, Adam Higgins and Tyler Thompson on Posted in Uncategorized
Democrats and Some Republicans Say Congress Must Restore Insurer Subsidies President Trump’s announcement Friday that he would stop cost-sharing payments to insurance companies triggered a firestorm on Capitol Hill, with lawmakers in both parties calling on Congress to restore the funding quickly. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said lawmakers could leverage upcoming must-pass budget … Continue Reading

Capitol Hill Healthcare Update

Photo of Mike FergusonPhoto of Chris JonesPhoto of Adam HigginsPhoto of Tyler ThompsonBy Mike Ferguson, Chris Jones, Adam Higgins and Tyler Thompson on Posted in Uncategorized
CHIP Renewal Triggers Partisan Clash Over Offsets Although the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) enjoys broad bipartisan support on Capitol Hill, lawmakers last week sharply disagreed over how to pay for its renewal – signaling that a final vote could be delayed for months. The House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Senate Finance Committee … Continue Reading

Capitol Hill Healthcare Update

Photo of Mike FergusonPhoto of Chris JonesPhoto of Adam HigginsPhoto of Tyler ThompsonBy Mike Ferguson, Chris Jones, Adam Higgins and Tyler Thompson on Posted in Uncategorized
Alexander, Murray Seek Health Law Stabilization Agreement With congressional Republicans’ efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on hold at least for now, the bipartisan leaders of the Senate HELP Committee are seeking to rekindle their work to shore up the health law’s troubled individual marketplace. Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said he hoped … Continue Reading

Capitol Hill Healthcare Update

Photo of Mike FergusonPhoto of Chris JonesPhoto of Adam HigginsPhoto of Tyler ThompsonBy Mike Ferguson, Chris Jones, Adam Higgins and Tyler Thompson on Posted in Uncategorized
GOP Divisions Threaten to Sink ACA Repeal Effort – Again Republicans’ last-ditch effort to overhaul the Affordable Care Act (ACA) suffered potentially fatal blows as GOP senators in recent days voiced either outright opposition to or serious reservations about legislation pushed by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.). The senators’ bill would repeal … Continue Reading

Capitol Hill Healthcare Update

Photo of Mike FergusonPhoto of Chris JonesPhoto of Adam HigginsPhoto of Tyler ThompsonBy Mike Ferguson, Chris Jones, Adam Higgins and Tyler Thompson on Posted in Uncategorized
ACA Stabilization Effort Continues Amid Uncertain Senate Fate The chairman of a Senate healthcare committee outlined a key test for stabilizing the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) shaky individual marketplace: Both Republicans and Democrats will have to give a little. That formula has been wildly unsuccessful not only this year but also in recent years as … Continue Reading

Capitol Hill Healthcare Update

Photo of Mike FergusonPhoto of Chris JonesPhoto of Adam HigginsPhoto of Tyler ThompsonBy Mike Ferguson, Chris Jones, Adam Higgins and Tyler Thompson on Posted in Uncategorized
Senate Readies for Key Procedural Vote on Healthcare Bill – Maybe Senate Republicans face a key procedural vote this week that would allow for debate of their healthcare legislation, but significant uncertainty remains about whether GOP senators can meet that procedural hurdle, what the underlying healthcare bill would be and how an impending White House … Continue Reading

Bundled Payments Out in the Cold? Another Delay for Mandatory Bundled Payment Models

Photo of Kristen McDermott WoodrumPhoto of Katy ApplebyBy Kristen McDermott Woodrum and Katy Appleby on Posted in Uncategorized
This most recent delay raises questions concerning how the Trump administration intends to implement value-based payment in the Medicare program. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has delayed again the implementation date of its final rule mandating hospital participation in two new cardiac episode-based payment models (EPMs) and an expansion of the Comprehensive … Continue Reading

Destination Medicine: Not Just for the Rich and Famous

Photo of Katy ApplebyBy Katy Appleby and Banee Pachuca on Posted in Uncategorized
OIG okays providing modest hotel and meal accommodations for rural and financially needy patients. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently issued an advisory opinion interpreting the finalized rules related to the beneficiary inducement civil monetary penalties (CMP) law. In a previous blog post, we discussed the OIG … Continue Reading

Capitol Hill Healthcare Update

Photo of Mike FergusonPhoto of Chris JonesPhoto of Adam HigginsPhoto of Tyler ThompsonBy Mike Ferguson, Chris Jones, Adam Higgins and Tyler Thompson on Posted in Uncategorized
AHCA Autopsy: What Happened, What’s Next? House Speaker Paul Ryan’s decision to cancel Friday’s vote on the American Health Care Act triggered post-mortem jockeying among vying GOP factions struggling to come to grips with how the party failed to repeal a law it has singularly campaigned against for the last seven years. Republicans’ inability to … Continue Reading

Capitol Hill Healthcare Update

Photo of Mike FergusonPhoto of Chris JonesPhoto of Adam HigginsPhoto of Tyler ThompsonBy Mike Ferguson, Chris Jones, Adam Higgins and Tyler Thompson on Posted in Uncategorized
At HHS, Price will lead Trump’s efforts on ACA repeal Three weeks into President Trump’s administration, the Senate on Friday narrowly approved Tom Price as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), elevating the former orthopedic surgeon as Trump’s point person on repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Price … Continue Reading

Capitol Hill Healthcare Update

Photo of Mike FergusonPhoto of Chris JonesPhoto of Adam HigginsPhoto of Tyler ThompsonBy Mike Ferguson, Chris Jones, Adam Higgins and Tyler Thompson on Posted in Uncategorized
GOP leaders delay ACA action amid “repeal,” “repair” debate House Speaker Paul Ryan last week set a deadline of the end of March for repealing most of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), as other Republican leaders and conservative rank-and-file lawmakers advocated competing policy alternatives for what would follow the health law. Congressional Republicans had hoped … Continue Reading

Capitol Hill Healthcare Update

Photo of Mike FergusonPhoto of Chris JonesPhoto of Adam HigginsPhoto of Tyler ThompsonBy Mike Ferguson, Chris Jones, Adam Higgins and Tyler Thompson on Posted in Uncategorized
At GOP retreat, consensus on healthcare elusive House and Senate Republicans emerged from a policy retreat last week in Philadelphia with no agreement on next steps in their plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Most congressional leaders, including House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.), urged rank-and-file lawmakers to … Continue Reading
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