On January 6, 2021 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar renewed the Public Health Emergency declaration, effective January 21, 2021. In a tweet, Secretary Azar announced the renewal and stated that “[o]ur work to combat the virus will continue, as will our work to ensure a peaceful and orderly transition.” The … Continue reading
On December 27, 2020, President Trump signed into law the fourth round of COVID-19 emergency relief that passed both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (“Act”) includes approximately $900 billion in pandemic relief and is reportedly the longest bill (5,593 pages) to be passed in Congress’s history. … Continue reading
Almost eleven months after the first confirmed coronavirus patient in the State of Washington (HL Pulse post here), the first dose of Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine was administered in the U.S. to a critical care nurse a little after 9:00 a.m. ET. This happened just three days after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration … Continue reading
On December 2, 2020 the United Kingdom’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority (“MHRA”) announced approval of Pfizer and BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine. According to a press release from the U.K. government: This was done using a regulatory process known as a ‘rolling review’. A ‘rolling review’ can be used to complete the assessment of a … Continue reading
On Friday November 20, Pfizer and BioNTech announced they would submit a request to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) seeking Emergency Use Authorization for their vaccine candidate. Earlier this week, the companies announced that at the completion of their Phase 3 trial, the vaccine was 95 percent effective. In addition to the effectiveness, … Continue reading
On Friday, November 13, the United States Occupational Safety & Health Administration (“OSHA”) issued a news release on its recent enforcement activities for violations that are related to the coronavirus pandemic. More specifically, OSHA stated that it has issued 204 citations arising from inspections for COVID-19 violations and that this has resulted in proposed penalties … Continue reading
On November 9, Pfizer and its German counterpart BioNTech announced initial clinical results found their coronavirus vaccine candidate to be more than 90 percent effective. Pfizer will wait to seek Emergency Use Authorization (“EUA”) from the US Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) under Section 564 of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Clinical study subjects must … Continue reading
On Wednesday, October 28, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”), with the Departments of Treasury and Labor, issued a fourth interim final rule (“IFR”) with comment period addressing the public health emergency (“PHE”). The policies in the IFR will become effective upon publication in the Federal Register. The IFR’s stated goal is … Continue reading
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (“CDC”) continues to update COVID-19 guidance as more information is known about how the coronavirus spreads. On October 21, 2020, the CDC made a significant update to the definition of “close contact”. Individuals that have spent 15 cumulative minutes within six feet of an infected individual during a 24-hour … Continue reading
On October 2, 2020, Secretary Azar of the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) renewed his public health emergency (“PHE”) declaration because of “the continued consequences” of the COVID-19 pandemic. This renewal will become effective on October 23, 2020 when the previous July 23 renewal was set to expire and will continue to January … Continue reading
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”), part of the U.S. Department of Labor, continues to update guidance for employers regarding protection of employees from exposure to COVID-19. Despite their best intentions, many employers have struggled to adapt to the constantly changing safety and reporting requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic. OSHA recently updated its COVID-19 … Continue reading
This past week the United States surpassed the grim milestone of 200,000 COVID-19 deaths and seven million cases of COVID-19. The spread of the virus has altered the way we work, live, and play around the world and will soon touch on one of the most treasured times of the year, the holiday season. The … Continue reading
On Monday, September 14, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) Administrator Seema Verma announced on Twitter that CMS was withdrawing the proposed Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Rule (“MFAR”) from its regulatory agenda. The MFAR, which was proposed in November of 2019, would have added new reporting requirements for state governments to receive state … Continue reading
Chief executive officers of nine biopharmaceutical companies signed an unprecedented joint pledge, entitled BIOPHARMA LEADERS UNITE TO STAND WITH SCIENCE, acknowledging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (“FDA”) role in the development of a COVID-19 vaccine, and pledging to: Always make the safety and well-being of vaccinated individuals our top priority. Continue to adhere to … Continue reading
On Tuesday, August 25, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released an interim final rule that updates the Medicare Conditions of Participation to require all hospitals to which 42 CFR Part 482 applies, as well as critical access hospitals (“CAHs”), to electronically report information including the number of confirmed or suspected COVID-19 … Continue reading
On August 20, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) issued a proposed rule that would impose requirements regarding the issuance and reliance on HHS guidance documents. This proposed rule results from the 2019 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Azar v. Allina Health Services (139 S. Ct. 1804). In this case the … Continue reading
On August 17, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) announced it was resuming inspections of Medicare and Medicaid certified providers and suppliers, which had been suspended in late March in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency. More specifically, CMS will be resuming onsite revisit surveys for surveys with end dates on, … Continue reading
On Tuesday, August 4, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) published the calendar year (“CY”) 2021 Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (“OPPS”) and Ambulatory Surgical Center (“ASC”) Payment System proposed rule. The proposed rule would increase hospital Medicare OPPS payment rates by 2.6 percent and ASC payment rates by 2.6 percent … Continue reading
On August 6, 2020 President Trump signed an Executive Order on Ensuring Essential Medicines, Medical Countermeasures, and Critical Inputs are Made in the United States. The Executive Order states that “the domestic supply chains must be capable of meeting national security requirements for responding to threats arising from CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear) threats … Continue reading
On Monday, August 3, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the CY 2021 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) proposed rule. We describe certain material provisions from the proposed rule below. Telehealth CMS proposes to add services to the Medicare telehealth list on a Category 1 basis. The additional services include group psychotherapy, … Continue reading
On July 27, 2020, Senators Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and John Cornyn (R-TX) released the SAFE TO WORK Act (“the Act”). The Act was released as part of the Senate Republicans draft coronavirus legislation, the HEALS Act, which stands for Health; Economic Assistance; Liability protection; and Schools. The Act seeks to limit liability for healthcare providers … Continue reading
On Friday, July 24, 2020, President Trump issued three executive orders, and announced a potential fourth executive order, with the stated intention of lowering the cost of prescription drugs in the United States. The general consensus among legal commentators is that the executive orders are not self-executing and implementation of the policies therein will, therefore, … Continue reading
On Friday, July 17, 2020, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia found in favor of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) by holding that Medicare Part B payment cuts to certain services provided to Medicare beneficiaries in off-campus provider-based departments (“PBDs”) are within the agency’s statutory authority. More specifically, … Continue reading