On Nov. 4, 2021, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) released a new Interim Final Rule (IFR) regarding staff vaccination at facilities that participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The IFR requires covered employers to ensure that staff receive their first dose no later than Dec. 5, 2021 and achieve full vaccination no later than Jan. 4, 2022. The vaccine rule that was also released on Nov ...
In order to continue addressing the impacts of COVID-19 on nursing home residents, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently issued a memo updating guidance for nursing home visitation. You can read the full memo here. Early in the pandemic, CMS implemented visitation restrictions to mitigate the risk of visitors introducing COVID-19 to nursing homes. Now, CMS is updating its guidance and allowing visitation for residents at all times ...
On Dec. 14, 2021, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) unexpectedly issued a letter to U.S. Senator Ron Widen (D-OR)[1] indicating that CMS plans to use its “administrative authority to issue proposed rulemaking” addressing price concessions and direct and indirect remuneration (DIR) fees that pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) have increasingly charged to specialty and retail pharmacy providers in Medicare and other pharmacy benefit programs in recent years ...
Recently, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it is rescinding the audit determinations for providers notified in January 2021 that had failed to qualify for the “mid-build” exception. CMS took this action due to questions raised by these providers regarding the audit process ...
On Feb. 24, 2022, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the redesign of its Global and Professional Direct Contracting (GPDC) accountable care organization (ACO) into one that focuses on health equity. The redesigned model, Realizing Equity, Access, and Community Health (REACH), was modified to reflect the Biden administration’s policy priorities as well as stakeholder feedback and participant experience ...
On March 31, 2022, the Chilean Financial Market Commission ("CMF") published with immediate effect, the General Rule No. 468, which regulates the authorization process for commencement of operations of local General Fund Managers or "AGF" as they are known in Chile, and the minimum background information required by the authority for granting such authorization ("NCG 468") ...
The Financial Market Commission ("CMF") published for public consultation the rule that will regulate investment advisory services in Chile, specifically the requirements and procedures for registration, cancellation and suspension in the Registry of Investment Advisors (the "Registry") and the obligations to which such advisors will be subject to, including the requirements regarding the disclosure of information. The CMF will receive comments until March 25, 2022 ...
The Financial Market Commission (Comisión para el Mercado Financiero or CMF) published on its website the document "Guidelines for a Law on Financial Conglomerates in Chile" in which, among other matters, analyzes the relevance of including financial conglomerates as part of the institutions under its supervision and proposes a legal framework ...
On April 18, 2023, the Financial Market Commission ("FMC") opened a public consultation process regarding the complementary activities that may be developed by bank or non-bank payment card operators ("Regulatory Proposal"), given the incorporation of new participants into the payments system, as a consequence of the implementation of the four-party model ...
On July 25, 2024, the Financial Market Commission ("CMF"), and after a public consultation process, the CMF published General Rule No. 515 (the “NCG 515”) that establishes a new communication channel between the supervised entities and the CMF and General Rule No. 516 (the “NCG 516”) that establishes common criteria to report material and reserved matters ...
Dear valued clients, colleagues and friends,The increased reliance on cloud computing has recently seen regulatory responses from the authorities. The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission on 15 October 2021 released an Advisory Notice on the upcoming licensing of cloud service providers from 1 January 2022, to address the regulatory loopholes brought about by the rise of cloud services and particularly the integrity of data stored on cloud ...
On March 3, 2022, President Biden signed the long-titled Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021. Seen as a result of the #MeToo movement, this fairly simple amendment to Title 9 of the United States Code prohibits private employers from mandating that employees submit to arbitration of sexual assault and sexual harassment claims ...
On 16 April 2021, the People’s Bank of China (“PBoC”) issued the Measures for Supervision and Administration of Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing in Financial Institutions (《金融机构反洗钱和反恐怖融资监督管理办法》) (the “2021 AML Measures”), following PBoC’s issuance of a consultation draft of the same on 30 December 2020 (the “Consultation Draft”) ...
Over the past ten or so years, imaginative plaintiffs have pressed “climate change cases” in federal and state courts across the United States. In these cases, plaintiffs (most commonly states, municipalities, or environmentalists) sue defendants (often energy companies, states, or municipalities themselves) seeking damages related to climate change. While these cases have proliferated across the country, Florida saw very few in the early going ...
25 October, 2021 An annual independent survey of law firms Prospera Tier 1 Law Firm Review by the Swedish company Kantar has shown that, in the clients’ opinion, the law firm Ellex Valiunas in Lithuania enjoys a leading law firm’s position by both best legal performance and overall performance ...
The impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) across the globe remains a significant concern in every aspect of business – and the representation and warranty (R&W) insurance market is no different. The following Frequently Asked Questions are designed to address some of the more common questions that have arisen since the outbreak of the pandemic.As always, advice in this area is fact-sensitive ...
Summary Liquidated damages (LDs) are predetermined damages set when a contract is entered into, based on a calculation of the estimated loss likely to be incurred if the contractor fails to meet specific dates. LDs clauses are commonplace in commercial contracts. In construction contracts, they generally apply where the contractor fails to complete works by specified dates due to reasons for which the contractor is culpable ...
In the recent case of Shanghai Shipyard Co. Ltd. V. Reignwood International Investment (Group) Company Limited [2021] EWCA Civ 1147 the Court of Appeal (COA) unanimously overturned the first instance decision and found a parent company guarantee to be a guarantee “on demand”. Despite arbitration proceedings having commenced under the underlying contract, the COA found the guarantor liable to pay $170 million under the guarantee ...
The Battleground: On one side of the battlefield, positioned on the lofty heights of moral superiority, the asset managers (and academics) lob propaganda leaflets pointing out their greater firepower in the form of smug principle and the dollar value of their total assets under management. Their opponents are a motley crew. There are the Startup Upstarts, whose uniform is expensive sneakers and untidy man-buns ...
The Department of Defense (DoD) and the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council (CAAC) have both issued new Class Deviations from the FARs that implement Executive Order 14042, Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors (i.e., the federal contractor vaccine mandate) ...
On October 31, 2013, the Supreme Court rendered three judgments with respect to class actions at the authorization or certification stage, one from the Province of Quebec1 and the other two from the Province of British Columbia.2 In all three cases, the facts raised issues with respect to the price fixing of consumer products in contravention of the Competition Act,3 notably through a conspiracy ...
Quebec is a fertile ground for class actions, with over 550 active cases and between 50 to 100 applications for authorization filed each year. While 2023 marked the fifth anniversary of the ?new? class action division: what is there to watch in 2024? Read on to find out. Opioids and the State: Sanis Health v ...
Consumer Law and the Consumer Protections Act (THE “CPA”) are aimed first and foremost at economic activities in the retail sales sector, spending in this sector represents more than 65% of spending in the province ...
While overdraft litigation risks have threatened the financial services industry for some time, recent class action lawsuits have trickled down to community banks. One place in particular where exposure has expanded is the increased willingness of plaintiff’s counsel to challenge the use of form account agreements and disclosures, including reliance on Regulation E’s model consent form ...