Health Law Advisor

Employment Law This Week - a new video program from Epstein Becker Green - has a story this week on how the Supreme Court has cleared the way for the Department of Labor’s home care worker wage rule.

The high court recently denied a stay of the D.C. Circuit’s decision, and the new rule extending Fair Labor Standards Act protections to most home care workers will go into effect November 12, 2015. While the Department will not begin full enforcement until January 1, 2016, the new regulation will be immediately enforceable by private individuals and attorneys.

Constance Wilkinson, Member of Epstein Becker Green, will co-present on a webinar on "340B Program and the Proposed Mega-Guidance" on October 22, 2015, from 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. ET.

With recent publication of the long-awaited proposed "Mega-Guidance," the federal 340B Drug Discount Program ("the 340B Program") is poised for significant changes. This webinar describes the 340B Program's historical background, practices, and challenges that resulted in the proposed policies and goals reflected in the Mega-Guidance. In addition to learning about the history of the 340B Program ...

On September 28, 2015, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ("CMS") issued a request for information ("RFI") seeking comments on two key components of the physician payment reform provisions included in the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 ("MACRA"), the law enacted on April 16, 2015, repealing the sustainable growth rate formula used to update payment rates under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule.  The RFI was originally open for a 30-comment period.  However, CMS has announced that it is extending the comment period for an additional 15 days.  Comments ...

On Wednesday, October 14, 2015, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (the "Court"), Judge Rudolph Contreras, vacated the Health Resources and Services Administration's ("HRSA") interpretive rule on Orphan Drugs ("the Interpretative Rule") as "arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law."^[1]  As a result of the ruling, pharmaceutical manufacturers are not required to provide 340B discounts to certain types of covered entities for Orphan Drugs, even when the drugs are prescribed for uses other than to treat the rare ...

When:  Thursday, October 15, 2015    8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Where:  New York Hilton Midtown, 1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019

This year, Epstein Becker Green’s Annual Workforce Management Briefing focuses on the latest developments that impact employers nationwide, featuring senior officials from the U.S. Department of Labor and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. We will also take a close look at the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act and its growing impact on the workplace.

In addition, we are excited to welcome our keynote speaker ...

In January 2015, CMS announced that it was considering developing voluntary clinical templates to help physicians adequately document their encounters with Medicare patients who receive home health services.[1] CMS initially proposed a sample paper template progress note and suggested clinical template elements for an electronic progress note. CMS hosted three Special Open Door Forums to solicit feedback on the proposed templates from physicians, home health agencies, and other interested stakeholders to provide feedback on the proposed templates.

On August 12, 2015, CMS ...

Epstein Becker Green's Lynn Shapiro Snyder, Senior Member of the Firm, and Tanya Vanderbilt Cramer, Of Counsel, will present "Accountable Care Organizations and Other Provider Risk Sharing Arrangements — a Legal and Regulatory Overview," a webinar hosted by Bloomberg BNA.

While the federal government has encouraged the growth of accountable care organizations (ACOs) through the Affordable Care Act, the regulation of ACOs and other provider risk sharing arrangements remains a patchwork of federal and state requirements that span many different areas of law. This ...

By Arthur J. Fried, Patricia M. Wagner, Adam C. Solander, Evan Nagler, and Jonathan Hoerner

On September 2, 2015, the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS") announced a $750,000 settlement with Cancer Care Group, P.C. ("CCG"), a radiation oncology practice in Indiana, for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy and Security Rules violations. The alleged violations occurred in 2012, but a subsequent HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) investigation led to allegations from OCR that there was a lack of compliance with HIPAA Privacy and ...

The Health Resources and Services Administration ("HRSA") issued a notice proposing guidance under the 340B Drug Pricing Program.  The proposed Omnibus Guidance was issued in pre-publication format and is available online at https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2015-21246.pdf.  The notice is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on August 28, 2015 and will be available at https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2015/08/28/2015-21246/guidance-340b-drug-pricing-program-omnibus.

HRSA intends to finalize the proposed ...

Reversing a decision by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, an August 21, 2015 decision by the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in Home Care Association of America v. Weil (pdf) has approved a regulation by the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) extending federal minimum wage and overtime protections to home care workers and live-in domestic service employees employed by third parties.

We previously wrote about the decision by the District Court for the District of Columbia that vacated a DOL regulation that had been ...