Introduction The World Health Organization named “vaccine hesitancy” as one of the top global health threats in 2019. In the United States, widespread utilization of non-medical exemptions to mandatory vaccination laws has led to statistically significant outbreaks of measles and other vaccine-preventable illnesses, and many headlines forecast that if vaccination exemptions continue the trajectory they are on, this country may well face a public health emergency ...
Introduction The recent spread of the coronavirus around the world is justifying significant concern among senior living operators and raising questions about how to prepare for and respond to the possibility that the disease will affect residents, staff, and visitors. This concern is exacerbated by the fact that seniors tend to be more vulnerable to such communicable diseases and live in close quarters with others at the community, sharing meals and participating in group activities ...
Flu season is in full swing. with the Center for Disease Control (CDC) confirming over 155,000 positive U.S. cases of influenza since Sept. 29, 2019. Simultaneously, the coronavirus COVID-19 has spread rapidly across China, with at least 70,000 confirmed cases, including 15 confirmed cases in the United States. In response, employers need to be prepared to assist employees in staying safe and complying with potential quarantines. Beginning Feb ...
SVW has, across its offices, been giving guidance to clients both under English and Norwegian law as to the Coronavirus impact on shipping contracts, including on force majeure and similar exceptions clauses, and contract frustration. Read our recent publication, touching upon these issues. The Covid19 Virus Only two months have passed since the novel coronavirus was detected in Wuhan, China ...
On 30 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the outbreak of novel coronavirus or COVID-19 constituted a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). The COVID-19 is a respiratory illness caused by a new coronavirus which first originated in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, the death toll from which has reportedly surpassed 1,000 on mainland China, while confirmed infections have passed 40,000 globally ...
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has announced several enforcement actions and settlements for violations of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) rules. OCR Secures Voluntary Resolution with Hospital to Settle Provision of Auxiliary Aids and Services to Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing Individuals On Jan ...
On Jan. 15, 2019, the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Civil Rights (OCR) shared a bulletin published by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Critical Infrastructure Protection Public-Private Partnership (ASPR CIP) regarding a number of vulnerabilities identified in Microsoft Windows operating systems, which if not addressed, pose significant a threat to the environment. On Jan ...
In December of 2019, the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy (“Board”) proposed rule changes for medical marijuana dispensaries. These proposed rule changes came on the heels of increased regulatory scrutiny of ownership structures and consulting arrangements in recent months.1 The proposed rules ostensibly seek to revise and clarify the Board’s position on changes of ownership and control of medical marijuana dispensaries ...
On Jan. 29, 2020, OCR released a notice regarding a recent federal court ruling in the case of Ciox Health, LLC v. Azar, et al ...
On Jan. 14, 2020, Microsoft ended support for its Windows 2007 operating system. This means Microsoft will no longer issue regular security updates for users of Window 2007. The process of issuing security updates for computer systems is commonly referred to as “patching.” Similar to fabric patches that repair holes in clothing, software patches repair holes in computer programs ...
Effective Oct. 1, 2017, Ohio Revised Code 4123.84 was amended to shorten the statute of limitations for the filing a traditional workers’ compensation claim (a standard physical injury resulting in either a lost-time, medical-only, or death claim) from two years following the alleged date of injury to one year. The amendment does not apply to either occupational disease claims or VSSR filings, which maintain the two-year statute ...
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released a final rule, which will require hospitals to publicly disclose pricing information, effective January 1, 2021 ...
Why is H-1B Filing Season Important? This is the only time of year (with minor exceptions indicated below) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) accepts H-1B specialty worker petitions for the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, 2020 ...
Beginning July 1, 2020, Pennsylvania’s Act 46 of 2019 (Act 46)[1] will require most Pennsylvania health insurers to cover medication synchronization services (MedSync) provided to patients taking two or more maintenance medications (i.e., medications for chronic long-term conditions, including diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease) ...
On Jan. 8, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published an informational bulletin titled “Best Practices for Avoiding 340B Duplicate Discounts in Medicaid.”[1] The bulletin outlines seven regulatory strategies State Medicaid agencies may consider when developing policies for preventing the occurrence of duplicate discounts in Medicaid Fee-for-Services (FFS) and Medicaid Managed Care Organization (MCO) programs ...
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has announced several recent enforcement actions and settlements for violations of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) rules. Ambulance Company Pays $65,000 to Settle Allegations of Long-Standing HIPAA Noncompliance On Dec. 30, 2019, West Georgia Ambulance, Inc ...
Under a new state law that takes effect January 1, 2020, California health care facilities and other entities must report any written allegations that a physician or other healing arts licensee has sexually abused or engaged in sexual misconduct with respect to a patient. Sexual misconduct is defined as "inappropriate contact or communication of a sexual nature." SB 425 (Hill) amends the Business and Professions Code to add a new provision, Section 805.8 ...
Starting next year, California residents who don’t have health care coverage could face a state tax penalty. Under the new Minimum Essential Coverage Individual Mandate, California residents who fail to maintain minimum essential coverage for themselves and their dependents could owe a state tax penalty, unless they qualify for an exemption ...
The Ohio Board of Pharmacy (“Board of Pharmacy”) recently issued a notice to all Board of Pharmacy licensees to be on alert for a scam being perpetrated against Ohio health care providers ...
On 7 August 2019 the Federal Administrative Court annulled a Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) order that had limited the price increase of a medicinal product on the list of specialities to two years. The product manufacturer had requested a price increase under Article 67(2) of the Healthcare Insurance Ordinance (SR 832.102), having incurred higher costs following the loss of two suppliers ...
Beginning Dec. 1, 2019, pharmacists licensed by the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy (“Board”) will have new reporting requirements. The Board enacted similar reporting requirements for pharmacy interns, pharmacy technician trainees, and registered and certified pharmacy technicians. These new reporting requirements add to existing compliance considerations and burdens for licensees, registrants, their employers, and owners and operators of retail and institutional pharmacies ...
The dangers of workers developing silicosis amid the fabrication of engineered stone has become a topic heavily discussed in the news and elsewhere recently. Silicosis is a lung disease that develops from the exposure and inhalation of silica particles. On October 2, National Public Radio (“NPR”) aired a story entitled “Workers Are Falling Ill, Even Dying, After Making Kitchen Countertops ...
This fall, an outbreak of lung illnesses allegedly related to vaping ignited public hysteria and legislative reactions in many states. The vaping and cannabis industries are already paying, and will continue to pay, high reputational and policy costs associated with these events, and the industries should also be aware that the widespread nature of reported injuries could lead to a substantial amount of costly mass tort litigation ...
With the recent proliferation of mass shootings and other deadly incidents, several states have taken on the issue of allowing mental and/or emotional impairments caused by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to be a compensable workers’ compensation condition for first responders without the requirement of a physical injury. In June 2019, House Bill 80, the budget bill for the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, included such a proposal ...
In the False Claims Act (FCA) case of Feinwachs v. Minnesota Hospital Association, the district court recently upheld relator David Feinwachs’ claim of work-product privilege over emails sent to his work email account. No. 11-cv-0008, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 155027 (D. Minn. Sept. 11, 2019). Feinwachs was formerly general counsel of the Minnesota Hospital Association (MHA), a trade association of Minnesota hospitals and health care systems ...
