Health Law Alert

On December 2, 2014, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) entered into a Resolution Agreement with Anchorage Community Mental Health Services, Inc. (ACMHS) following OCR’s investigation of a self-reported compromise of ACMHS’ electronic health information system due to a malware attack that compromised the records of 2,743 individuals. OCR investigated […]

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness Response recently released a guide to help health care facilities incorporate active shooter planning into their emergency operations plans. Publication of the guide comes at a time of enhanced focus on national preparedness efforts, following the […]

On December 4, 2014, President Barack Obama signed into law (Pub. L. 113-198) which continued a de facto moratorium on enforcement of physician supervision requirements for critical access and small rural hospitals. Specifically, the law requires the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to continue to instruct […]

Many practitioners including physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners (“Eligible Professionals”) recently received a notice from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) stating that, in 2015, a negative reduction (-1.5%) in Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (“MPFS”) amounts would be imposed for failure to report under the Physician Quality […]

Beds caked in feces and soaked in urine are not the typical living conditions for the nation’s nursing home population. These facts recently motivated Government officials to utilize ever evolving methods of enforcement to uphold quality of care standards for the elderly under Federal criminal statutes and the “worthless services” […]