The U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate each passed bills this week authorizing emergency spending to combat the
House and Senate pass Zika funding measures, but significant compromise still needed
House passes comprehensive opioid legislation in advance of negotiations with the Senate
During the week ending May 13, 2016, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a comprehensive set of 18 bills aimed at curbing the opioid epidemic. The largest of these bills, the Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Reduction Act of 2016 (H.R. 5046), passed by a 413-5 vote in the House on May 12, 2016. This bill authorizes US $103 million dollars in grant funding for fiscal years 2017 through 2021, and makes the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) responsible for administering grants to state, local, and tribal governments to provide a range of opioid abuse services. These services include developing and expanding existing programs to combat opioid abuse, training first responders in administering opioid overdose reversal medication, and providing dedicated opioid treatment and prevention services for veterans. In March 2016, the Senate passed a similar measure, titled the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016 (S. 524), which authorizes the Attorney General to award similar grants.
FDA issues final menu labeling guidance
On April 29, 2016, the US Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) issued the final guidance on menu labeling titled “A Labeling Guide for Restaurants and Retail Establishments Selling Away-From-Home Foods – Part II.”
CMS announces final rule on fire safety requirements for certain health care facilities
On May 4th, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will publish a final rule to update health care facilities’ fire protection guidelines to improve protections for all Medicare beneficiaries in facilities from fire.
This final rule applies to
FDA issues final rule for sanitary food transport, giving companies 1 year to comply
On April 6, 2016, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published the final rule for the sanitary transportation of human and animal food. The rule aims to prevent food contamination during transportation by requiring covered entities involved in transporting human and animal food to follow recognized best practices for sanitary transportation. The rule seeks to prevent unsanitary practices such as the failure to properly refrigerate food, the inadequate cleaning of vehicles between loads, and the failure to properly protect food.
D.C. Health Department issued proposed regulation establishing rules for telemedicine in the district
Late last month, the Washington D.C. Health Department issued a four-page proposed D.C. municipal regulation on the practice of telemedicine. Until now, providers in Washington D.C. have relied on a policy statement on telemedicine that was issued in November of 2014.
Senate blocks anti-GMO labeling bill
On March 16, 2016, the U.S. Senate voted 48-49 against invoking cloture to cut off a filibuster on the Biotechnology Labeling Solutions Act. The bill would have established a federal standard of voluntary labeling and preempted any mandatory GMO labeling state laws. In July 2015, a similar bill called the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015 successfully passed through the U.S. House of Representatives.[1] In October 2015, the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry held a hearing on the mandatory labeling of genetically engineered crops that focused on the House bill.
CMS increases Medicare enrollment screening for providers and suppliers
On February 22, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced its intention to further enhance CMS’s ability to screen providers and suppliers enrolling or currently enrolled in Medicare for compliance with Medicare enrollment requirements. Specifically, CMS will strengthen existing screening measures by increasing the number of site visits to Medicare enrolled providers and suppliers, enhancing address verification software in CMS’s Provider Enrollment Chain and Ownership System (PECOS), analyzing enrollment data to identify and deactivate certain providers who have not billed Medicare within the last 13 months, and monitoring and identifying potentially invalid addresses contained in initial enrollment applications.
CMS publishes final rule addressing the reporting and returning of self-identified overpayments; detailed post to follow
This morning the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a final rule that addresses the obligation of health care providers and suppliers to report and return overpayments by the later of 60 days from the date an overpayment is
CMS revisits ACO benchmarking
CMS issued a proposed rule on January 28, 2016 that would significantly overhaul benchmark calculations for Medicare Shared Savings Program Accountable Care Organizations (MSSP ACOs), which may increase the long-term attractiveness of the MSSP for high-performing ACOs.