Articles and Blogs

On November 2, 2021, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued its CY 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (“MPFS”) Final Rule. Simultaneously, CMS released its CY 2022 Outpatient Prospective Payment System (“OPPS”) Final Rule with comment period. Below is a high-level summary of significant changes established by the MPFS Final Rule. For further…Read More

As Hall Render previously reported last week, 10 states challenged the CMS and HHS Interim Final Rule (“IFR”) requiring vaccination of staff of certain Medicare and Medicaid providers and suppliers. Yesterday, 12 more states filed a similar suit challenging the IFR in the Western District Court of Louisiana—a court in the Fifth Circuit that just…Read More

On November 2, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released the calendar year (“CY”) 2022 Outpatient Prospective Payment System (“OPPS”) and Ambulatory Surgical Center (“ASC”) Payment System final rule (“Final Rule”). Simultaneously, CMS released its CY 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (“MFPS”) final rule. Below is a high-level summary of the major…Read More

On November 10, 2021, a settlement was issued in a case against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that will now permit nonimmigrant H-4 and L-2 spouses to have automatic extensions of their Employment Authorization Documents (“EAD”) due to lengthy delays in processing by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”). This settlement also will lead…Read More

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) wants surveyors to add extra attention and increase oversight in nursing homes regarding the quality of care and quality of life for residents. On November 12, 2021, the Quality, Safety & Oversight Group at CMS issued a memorandum entitled “Changes to COVID-19 Survey Activities and Increased Oversight in Nursing…Read More

On November 8, 2021, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) revised its Self-Disclosure Protocol (“SDP”) for health care providers for the first time since 2013. OIG’s revisions brought the SDP in line with the current statutory penalties under the Anti-Kickback Statute (“AKS”) and Civil Monetary Penalties Law (“CMPL”)…Read More

Within days after the federal government’s adoption of a vaccine mandate for most hospitals and other participants in Medicare and Medicaid, the first court challenge has surfaced. On November 10, 2021, a coalition of 10 State Attorneys General filed suit against the federal government seeking to invalidate the interim final rule (“IFR”) issued on November…Read More

As Hall Render discussed here and here, on November 4, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) simultaneously released vaccine mandate rules. These, along with the federal contractor vaccine mandate, will require a majority of the American workforce to be vaccinated by January 4, 2022. Since then,…Read More

CMS issued the CY 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule on November 2, 2021, to include some minor expansion of coverage for telehealth services. Importantly, the general statutory coverage restrictions related to rural areas and defined originating sites will again be in place following the end of the Public Health Emergency (“PHE”) unless Congress…Read More