As the COVID-19 pandemic progresses and the expanded use of telehealth has appeared to stabilize over the past year according to a July report from McKinsey & Company, Federal agencies have continued the recent trend of enforcement actions and audits of telehealth providers. On September 17, 2021, the U.S. Department…
In the ever-evolving life sciences industry, compliance is top-of-mind for investors, business leaders, the public and the government. Life sciences companies are subject to increased enforcement efforts and greater public scrutiny, and boards, investors, and other key stakeholders call for more and better compliance controls. As a result, there are…
In September 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed a new rule that would expedite Medicare coverage for medical technology approved through the Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) “Breakthrough Devices Program.” CMS’s proposal – the Medicare Coverage of Innovative Technology, or MCIT, Pathway – was groundbreaking in…
Many allied health professionals are subject to state-level licensing requirements that can vary from jurisdiction-to-jurisdiction. What may be required in New York to hold a medical professional license may differ dramatically from what is required in Illinois or Texas, for instance. One state’s requirements may be onerous and administratively taxing;…
The use of telehealth continues to grow rapidly across the U.S. Given legislative proposals and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services efforts to expand access to telehealth, we can only anticipate that remotely engaging with healthcare providers is here to stay. In fact, the National Center for Health Statistics…
The No Surprises Act and Transparency in Coverage final rules go into effect January 1, 2022. Implemented as Titles I and II of Division BB of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, these rules are intended to protect patients from surprise medical bills and increase transparency by requiring certain health care facilities…
The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has reported that in 2020, the government prosecuted dozens of laboratory owners and operators for anti-kickback related offenses responsible for hundreds of millions in alleged federal health care program loses. DOJ recouped a total of $1.8 billion dollars in connection with healthcare fraud allegations. Since…
Alere Inc. and Alere San Diego Inc. (collectively “Alere”) have come under fire recently by the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and other government agencies, agreeing to settle several rounds of accusations of False Claims Act violations for a total of $198.75 million. The first series of settlements was announced…
In recent months, the Kaiser Health Network (part of the Kaiser Family Foundation) has issued three reports scrutinizing the orthopedic industry and its practices. Each report articulates the stakeholder group’s concerns over relationships among orthopedic and spinal surgeons, orthopedic implant manufacturers, and their sales representatives. Medical device manufacturers, especially those…
PhRMA, the pharmaceutical manufacturer trade association, announced on Fri. August 6 that it has revised its longstanding Code on Interactions with Health Care Professionals. The revisions, which relate to the Code’s treatment of speaker programs, track concerns in a Special Fraud Alert released late last year by the US Department…
