Category: Regulatory

January 31, 2023

Providers and drug manufacturers have been at odds for years over the 340B drug discount program, which requires pharmaceutical companies to give discounts on outpatient drugs for providers serving low-income communities. Such providers usually have narrower margins, meaning the drug […]

January 30, 2023

In the final two months of 2022, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released over 5,000 pages of new regulations and the U.S. Congress passed into law a 4,000-plus page omnibus spending bill that had over 1,000 pages […]

January 30, 2023

Monday’s proposal is the latest of President Joe Biden’s efforts to expand access to reproductive healthcare, a particular focus for the White House in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Last August, […]

January 24, 2023

We greatly appreciate Congress including a 3.5 percent value-based care incentive in a year-end spending bill. NAACOS and others have been calling on lawmakers to extend these critical incentives so that our health system can maintain momentum on its value-based […]

January 19, 2023

Surprise bills are banned in most cases thanks to legislation that went into effect last year. But ground ambulances escaped enforcement and can legally still send surprise bills to patients. Ground ambulances were left out of federal legislation outlawing surprise […]

January 17, 2023

President Joe Biden’s administration is urging a judge to reject a request by abortion opponents for a court order withdrawing federal approval for the drug used in medication abortions – which account for more than half of U.S. abortions – […]

January 11, 2023

A federal court has ruled it’s up to the HHS to determine how to repay hospitals enrolled in the 340B drug discount program after years of underpayments, sparking concern from hospital groups. The court’s ruling on Tuesday is the latest […]

January 4, 2023

As you design, market, and distribute a mobile health (mHealth) app that your customers will use to collect, share, use, or maintain individuals’ health information, it is likely you have questions about what U.S. federal laws apply. You may also […]

January 4, 2023

The revamp of the Medi-Cal health insurance program is an ambitious undertaking designed to improve patient care in the nation’s largest Medicaid market. Medicaid spending proposed in California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2022-23 budget is more than $130 billion per year, […]

December 21, 2022

Despite growing evidence of the harm caused by medical debt, hundreds of U.S. hospitals maintain policies to aggressively pursue patients for unpaid bills, using tactics such as lawsuits, selling patient accounts to debt buyers, and reporting patients to credit rating […]

December 21, 2022

A federal court ruling Tuesday could make it nearly impossible for Texas teens to access birth control without parental permission. US District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk ruled that Title X, the federal program that provides free, confidential contraception to anyone regardless […]

December 15, 2022

The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is investigating a possible spike in cases of invasive infections among children in the United States caused by the bacteria that is known to lead to strep throat, called group A Streptococcus […]

December 14, 2022

The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) (@HHSOCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a bulletin to highlight the obligations of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) on covered entities and business associates (regulated […]

December 9, 2022

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, labor unions have pushed for greater protections for healthcare workers — especially concerning adequate personal protective equipment, or PPE, and measures to protect workers from viral transmission. The rule OSHA submitted Thursday is under review and […]

December 8, 2022

Community health is more than how someone’s physical health needs are being met. It involves all the physical, social, and environmental factors — access to nutritious food, stable income and housing, education opportunities, and more. These social determinants of health, […]

November 29, 2022

The HHS has been working to modernize its regulations governing the records of patients treated for substance use disorders, which the agency has said affect 15% of U.S. adults. In a prior rule finalized in August 2020, the HHS said […]

November 22, 2022

The HIPAA Administrative Simplification provisions are in place to provide consistency in electronic communications within healthcare for Protected Health Information (PHI). These mandate the usage of standard transactions, code sets, and identifiers for the United States healthcare system. Who Must […]

November 21, 2022

The Department of Justice is appealing a federal judge’s decision allowing UnitedHealth’s $13 billion purchase of Change Healthcare to close. The DOJ, joined by New York and Minnesota, filed a notice of appeal on Friday following U.S. District Judge Carl […]

November 18, 2022

The rule requires hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, nursing homes and other healthcare facilities to ensure staff are fully vaccinated or risk losing Medicare and Medicaid funding. In January the Supreme Court upheld the mandate in a 5-4 decision, ruling the […]

November 17, 2022

Despite criticisms over inaction, the HHS is aware of the flurry of fraud in the Medicare Advantage program that’s costing the government billions of dollars a year, and is thinking about how to curb it, department officials said at HLTH […]