Elise LeGros (US)

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OIG considers new safe harbors and other incentives to promote coordinated care

By Elise LeGros (US) on September 5, 2018 Posted in Regulatory

As part of the Health and Human Services Department’s (“HHS”) “Regulatory Sprint to Coordinated Care” efforts aimed at alleviating unnecessary regulatory barriers to coordinated care while protecting against fraud and abuse, the Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) issued a Request for Information (“RFI”) on August 27, 2018, requesting public input on the following items: Care … Continue reading

U.S. House of Representatives passes the Veterans E-Health and Telemedicine Support Act of 2017

By Elise LeGros (US) on November 16, 2017 Posted in Regulatory

On November 8, 2017, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed H.R. 2123, the Veterans E-Health and Telemedicine Support (“VETS”) Act of 2017. Under current regulations, VA health care providers in good standing may practice in another state if the provider is located in a facility owned by the Federal Government; however, this does not … Continue reading

Texas Medical Board proposes new telemedicine regulations

By Elise LeGros (US) on October 17, 2017 Posted in Regulatory

The Texas Medical Board (“TMB”) recently proposed new telemedicine regulations (the “Proposed Regulations”). Such regulations are necessary to revise current regulations of the TMB in light of Senate Bill 1107 (“SB 1107”), which recently passed the Texas Legislature. I. Prescriptions for Medications SB 1107 required that the TMB, the Texas Board of Nursing, the Texas … Continue reading

Texas telemedicine stakeholder group recommends new rules to incorporate SB 1107

By Elise LeGros (US) on August 15, 2017 Posted in Regulatory

The Telemedicine Stakeholder Group met in late July 2017 and offered suggestions for revisions (“Suggested Revisions”) to the current Texas Medical Board (“TMB”) rules in light of the new SB 1107. As previously covered, SB 1107 greatly expanded the telemedicine services physicians can provide in Texas, including allowing the establishment of a physician-patient relationship in … Continue reading

US telemedicine industry players are pursuing opportunities abroad

By Elise LeGros (US) on August 15, 2017 Posted in International, Regulatory

Telemedicine has been rapidly expanding in the United States. Indeed, Texas recently passed legislation that gives Texas telemedicine providers more flexibility, including the ability to establish a physician-patient relationship in connection with telemedicine services without requiring an in-person visit. Business entrepreneurs are finding ways to expand telemedicine opportunities internationally as well. NBC News recently published … Continue reading

The European Court of Justice lowers causation standard of proof, finds vaccine could cause multiple sclerosis absent hard science

By D'Lesli Davis (US) and Elise LeGros (US) on June 23, 2017 Posted in International

In an opinion that could significantly lower the threshold for proof of general causation in product liability lawsuits if adopted elsewhere, on June 21, 2017, the European Court of Justice held that a court could find a vaccine “defective” and thus the cause of a disease, even where no medical research supported such a causal … Continue reading

Texas Legislature moves to expand permissible telemedicine services in Texas

By Elise LeGros (US) on May 12, 2017 Posted in Regulatory

On May 11, 2017 the Texas House passed Senate Bill 1107 (“SB 1107”), which greatly expands the telemedicine services physicians can provide in Texas. SB 1107 passed the House with the support of substantially the entire House. Senate Bill 1107 was previously passed unanimously by the Texas Senate on March 29, 2017. SB 1107 must … Continue reading

Texas Medical Board and Teladoc granted second request for a stay

By Elise LeGros (US) on April 12, 2017 Posted in Regulatory

On April 10, 2017, a Texas federal court granted a motion to extend the stay of the Teladoc lawsuit against the Texas Medical Board (“TMB”). The court had previously granted a motion to stay the case until April 19, 2017. The case has now been stayed until September 1, 2017 to allow both parties to … Continue reading

Federal district court endorses Stark liberalization of writing requirement

By Debbi Johnstone (US), Joseph Keillor (US) and Elise LeGros (US) on March 29, 2017 Posted in Enforcement, Regulatory

On March 15, a federal district court in the Western District of Pennsylvania endorsed CMS commentary from November 2015 that dramatically liberalized the “written agreement” requirement of core Stark exceptions, thus providing some new insights as to what may be the outer limits of CMS’s new approach. When ruling on cross motions for summary judgment … Continue reading