Anthony Huber, Belmont Law, Class of 2021 On September 24, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker ordered a four-month ban on the sale of all vaping products in the state. The ban was approved by the Public Health Council and took immediate effect. “The purpose of this public health emergency is to temporarily pause all sales of …
Drug Resistant Infections in Skilled Nursing Facilities and Long-Term Care Hospitals
Ryland Close, Belmont Law, Class of 2020 Skilled nursing facilities and long-term care hospitals are struggling to control the spread of Candida auris, a drug resistant fungus that causes serious infections, particularly in vulnerable patients with pre-existing illnesses.[1] Candida auris poses an especially serious threat as it is difficult to identify, spreads easily and quickly, …
CMS expands disclosure requirements and increases enforcement powers in affiliation rule
Ryland Close, Belmont Law Class of 2020; Patsy Powers and Justin Hickerson, Attorneys at Waller The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is expanding its authority to revoke or deny providers’ and suppliers’ Medicare, Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) enrollment based upon their affiliation with a sanctioned entity. The rule will go …
Federal appeals court backs injunction against religious, moral exemptions from contraceptive mandate
Amy Zink, Class of 2021; Kim Harvey Looney, Partner at Waller The Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has upheld a lower court ruling in Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. President United States of America et al., which granted a nationwide preliminary injunction against religious and moral exemptions for employers to the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) …
Pennsylvania AG takes hard stance on nonprofit healthcare providers in the name of consumer protection
Clay Brewer, Class of 2019; Neil B. Krugman, Partner at Waller The rise in healthcare costs and public concern about accessing adequate care has caught the eye of many government officials across the country, some of whom have increased their enforcement of consumer protection laws in response. The Attorney General of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, provides …
The latest on Affordable Care Act litigation at the Fifth Circuit
By Philip FitzGerald, Class of 2019; Colin H. Luke, Partner at Waller In late March, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) issued a letter to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit supporting the holding by District Court Judge Reed O’Connor that the Affordable Care Act’s (“ACA’s”) individual mandate is unconstitutional and therefore the …
Several Southeastern states seek to eliminate or relax Certificate of Need laws
Philip FitzGerald, Class of 2019; Kim Harvey Looney, Partner at Waller; Zachary D. Trotter, Associate at Waller State certificate of need (“CON”) programs regulate the building and expansion of health care facilities and the acquisition of health care equipment. In our region, the states of Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina have bills working …
HHS launches innovative payment model for ambulance providers
Curtis Campbell, Class of 2019; Kim Harvey Looney, Partner at Waller The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced a new payment model for emergency ambulance services that will permit Medicare patients to be transported to healthcare facilities other than hospital emergency departments. The Emergency Triage, Treat and Transport (ET3) model …
The Amazon-Berkshire Hathaway-JPMorgan Chase healthcare venture remains a mystery
Seth Carver, Class of 2020; Neil B. Krugman, Partner at Waller In early 2018, Amazon announced a joint healthcare venture with Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase to build an independent, nonprofit healthcare company targeted at improving care and reducing costs for its employees. Since then, the joint venture has continued to form and develop, hiring …
New access standards for veterans to receive community care
Philip FitzGerald, Class of 2019; Colin H. Luke, Partner at Waller Last month, the Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) proposed new access standards for community care as part of the implementation of the MISSION Act, which President Trump signed into law last June. One goal of the MISSION Act is to provide veterans with greater …