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The New York Office of the Medicaid Inspector General (OMIG) recently announced updates to its Self-Disclosure Program in response to feedback from Medicaid stakeholders after its revised posting in January 2023. OMIG revised its disclosure process to have two pathways for healthcare providers to report, explain, and return overpayments by creating an “Abbreviated Self-Disclosure Process” in addition to the existing full disclosure process.Continue Reading Two Pathways for Medicaid Self-Disclosures Announced by OMIG

On May 2, 2023, legislators approved the $229 billion New York State FY 2023-2024 Budget Bill (“the Budget”), which was signed by Governor Hochul on May 3, 2023. Article VII of the Budget touches almost every aspect of the New York healthcare system, including home health, hospitals, laboratories, and reproductive health. It contains wide-ranging provisions that expand access to care, allow clinicians to provide more services, and allocate needed resources to providers. It targets Medicaid in multiple ways, including an extension of the Medicaid Global Cap on system-wide spending growth through FY 2025.[i] Here, we outline some of the key provisions that this Budget contains.Continue Reading New York Enacts Long Negotiated Budget Bill with Sweeping Implications for Health Care

Certain COVID-19 emergency declaration blanket waivers are being phased out by the federal government, and health care providers should take steps to determine whether current arrangements are compliant. As background, in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency CMS previously enacted extensive temporary COVID-19 Emergency Declaration Blanket Waivers for Health Care Providers. However, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have now determined that various regulatory requirements must be restored in order to protect the health and safety of residents in long-term care facilities.Continue Reading NOTICE TO PROVIDERS: CMS Phasing Out Certain COVID-19 Regulatory Waivers in Long-Term Care Facilities, Hospices, and ESRD Facilities

OSHA has partially reopened the rulemaking record and scheduled an informal public hearing to seek comments on several topics relating to the development of a final standard to protect healthcare and healthcare support service workers from workplace exposure to COVID-19. In June of last year, OSHA issued an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) to protect workers in healthcare settings from occupational exposure to the virus. This ETS also served as a proposed rule and focused on healthcare workers most likely to have contact with people infected with the virus.
Continue Reading OSHA Taking Comments on Proposed Permanent Healthcare COVID-19 Standard

On March 8, 2022, OSHA released an enforcement memorandum detailing a new initiative involving a short-term increase in highly focused inspections directed at hospitals and skilled nursing care facilities that treat or handle COVID-19 patients. The goal of this initiative is to ensure continued mitigation to control the spread of COVID-19 and future variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and protect the health and safety of healthcare workers who are at heightened risk for contracting the virus. This short-term initiative is a supplement to OSHA’s targeted enforcement under the COVID-19 National Emphasis Program (NEP), focusing on follow-up and monitoring inspections of hospitals and skilled nursing care facilities previously inspected or investigated by OSHA. It is also coming as yet-to-be released proposed permanent OSHA regulations to protect health-care workers from COVID-19 are under review at the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, which is typically one of the last steps before regulations are enacted.
Continue Reading OSHA Announces COVID-19 Enforcement Initiative for Hospitals and Nursing Care Facilities

On April 19, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued recommendations for Re-opening Facilities to Provide Non-emergent Non-COVID-19 Healthcare: Phase I. The recommendations apply to areas with a low, or relatively low and stable incidence of COVID-19, in states or regions that have passed Phase I gating criteria that were previously announced by the Administration on April 16, 2020. Initially, the recommendations apply to non-emergent care that is currently on hold, such as chronic disease care, surgery and other procedures, and, eventually, preventive care. CMS is strongly urging maximum use of telehealth.  For healthcare systems and facilities that are considering resuming in-person care, CMS recommends careful planning with state public health authorities. The recommendations also caution that all facilities should continually evaluate whether their area continues to have a low incidence of COVID-19 and be prepared to cease non-essential procedures if there is a surge.
Continue Reading CMS Issues Phase-In Recommendations for Non-COVID Non-Emergent Care