Articles and Blogs

On April 27, 2021, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) released new buprenorphine practice guidelines entitled, Practice Guidelines for the Administration of Buprenorphine for Treating Opioid Use Disorder (“Practice Guidelines”), that remove a longstanding requirement tied to practitioner training that has been cited as a barrier to treating larger numbers of individuals suffering…Read More

Reimbursement under the new Patient Driven Payment Model, staff background checks, infection control programs, facility-initiated transfer or discharge of a resident and the use of psychotropic drugs are several new skilled nursing facility (“SNF”) areas of audit and focus of Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (“OIG”). OIG publishes updates monthly…Read More

On April 20, 2021, Indiana’s Governor Holcomb signed into law a pregnancy accommodation bill. The law will apply to employers with at least 15 employees when it goes into effect on July 1, 2021. Under this new law, an employee may request an accommodation related to pregnancy, childbirth or any related medical conditions. The employer…Read More

On May 11, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released over 90 pages of interim final regulations (the “Interim Final Regulations”) to revise the infection control requirements that long-term care facilities (Medicaid nursing facilities and Medicare skilled nursing facilities) and intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities (“ICFs-IID”) must meet to participate…Read More

In an effort to “promote economy and efficiency in federal contracting,” last month President Biden issued an executive order (“EO”) raising the minimum pay rate for federal contract workers from $10.95/hour to $15/hour. Beginning January 30, 2022, all federal agencies will be required to incorporate a $15 minimum wage in new contract solicitations, and by…Read More

In an April 15, 2021 letter, the EEOC addressed a request for guidance on employer-provided incentives aimed at encouraging employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The agency indicated, at the time, that they were updating their technical assistance guide to address the extent to which employers may offer employee incentives to vaccinate. Specifically, the guidance…Read More

The Information Blocking Rule (45 CFR part 171) is only a month into effect, and improved access to medical records, particularly concurrent delivery of lab results to the provider and patient and increased access to provider notes through patient portals, already has led to scrutiny of accurate encounter notes and complicated patient satisfaction issues for…Read More

As the world anticipates a gradual return to normalcy, there are numerous questions about the extent to which the “new normal” will look like the “old normal,” from the commercial real estate market to social norms regarding personal space and social touching (such as hugs and handshakes). Within employment law, one of the questions is…Read More