Helpful Hints
ADPH Says Vaccine Administration is Limited at this Time
The Alabama Department of Public Health issued a press release on January 11, 2021, urging Alabamians to have patience in receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. According to the release, the vaccine is available to healthcare workers, people age 75 and older, law enforcement officers, and firefighters. As of January 18, 2021, the state is now in Phase 1B of the allocation plan developed by the State.
The Department also announced the creation of an online registration portal in addition to the hotline developed for Alabama residents to sign-up to receive the vaccine. Both the portal and hotline allow eligible individuals to register for the vaccine at their local county health departments. Again, the Department urges those that are not currently eligible to wait to call until the state has moved into the phase making the individual eligible for the vaccine.
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As discussed in a previous McGuireWoods alert, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published final rules, effective Jan. 19, 2021, that significantly amend the Physician Self-Referral Law (Stark Law), the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) and the Civil Monetary Penalties (CMP) Law. This client alert, the latest in McGuireWoods’ summary series on these final rules, focuses on the AKS safe harbors and Stark Law exceptions finalized by the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) aimed at reducing regulatory burdens to allow healthcare providers to engage in value-based arrangements.
BEAUMONT, Texas â United States Attorney Stephen J. Cox announced that he will step down from his post as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas (EDTX) effective 11:59 p.m. today, January 19.
âThe opportunity to serve as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas has been a distinct honor and privilege for which I will be forever grateful,â said Cox. âThe opportunity to serve the people of the Great State of Texas, and to work alongside the fine men and women of our office, has been nothing short of humbling.â
During Coxâs tenure at EDTX, the District focused increased attention on complex fraud and white-collar enforcement, with a particular emphasis on healthcare, financial, and antitrust crimes; adopted new corporate enforcement policies that are important for transparency, good government, and fairness; launched a new transnational elder fraud initiative designed to target international crime rings targeting senior citizens; forme
This Commentary is part of a series of nine Commentaries on the newly finalized Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute exceptions and safe harbors seeking to remove regulatory barriers to care coordination.
In Short
The Situation: On November 20, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ( CMS ) released the long-awaited final rule to modernize and clarify the Stark Law. As part of this final rule, CMS reviewed stakeholder comments and industry arrangements and practices that do not pose significant risk of fraud or abuse and may warrant additional flexibility to assist parties in promoting compliance with the Stark Law.
The Action: CMS issued a final rule creating a new exception to the Stark Law for limited remuneration to physicians, eliminating rules for determining the period of disallowance in favor of case-by-case analysis, and permitting entities to proactively reconcile payment discrepancies without being deemed out of compliance with an applicable exception.
Friday, January 15, 2021
On Nov. 20, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued two final rules, which implement changes to the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) and Physician Self-Referral Law (Stark Law) regulations (respectively the OIG Final Rule and the CMS Final Rule, collectively the Final Rules).
[1] This alert is a part of the Dinsmore Health Care practice group’s ongoing summary of the Final Rules.
In an attempt to transform the health care system into “one that pays for value,” the Final Rules provide new exceptions and safe harbors for value-based arrangements. The Final Rules are intended to allow more flexibility and additional avenues for health care providers to structure value-based arrangements. Existing value-based arrangements that are already in compliance with a Stark exception or AKS safe harbor are not required to use one of the new exce