The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities. Title I of the ADA covers employment by private employers with 15 or more employees as well as state and local government employers of the same size. The ADA protects a qualified individual with a disability from discrimination or harassment based on disability, and also provides that, absent undue hardship, a qualified individual with a disability is entitled…

In Michigan, licensed homes for the aged are a sort of regulatory hybrid, wedged in between heavily regulated skilled nursing facilities and unlicensed assisted living facilities. That middle ground is apparent in the degree to which the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (“LARA”) is involved in the facility’s relationship with its residents during discharge situations. Although a licensed home for the aged (“HFA”) is not subject to the detailed procedures for involuntary discharge…

The Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services (“OCR”) settled a HIPAA violation with a Texas-based dental practice based on the practice’s inappropriate disclosures of PHI on YELP. OCR received a complaint on June 5, 2016, from a patient of Elite Dental Associates alleging that the practice violated HIPAA when it responded to a review the patient submitted to YELP with a response that included PHI. The practice’s response on…

On October 9, 2019, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to update the safe harbors to the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (“AKS”) and the Civil Monetary Penalties Law (“CMP Law”) related to the prohibition on beneficiary inducements. At the same time, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to update the exceptions to the federal physician…

Authored by David Padalino On September 10, 2019, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) announced its Final Rule applying new reporting requirements for enrolled, and prospective, providers and suppliers. Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP providers and suppliers will need to disclose their affiliations with organizations that have uncollected debts, are subject to a payment suspension under a federal health care program, have been excluded by the OIG, or had their Medicare, Medicaid, or CHIP…

In this case, both the U.S. Department of Justice  and AseraCare relied heavily on expert testimony. The Government’s expert focused on 125 patients from a pool of nearly 2,200 hospice patients and concluded that the patients were not eligible for hospice care. Slip. Op. at 24. Significantly, the Government did not allege that the documentation provided for hospice qualification was insufficient, contained any false diagnosis or other false certifications. Rather, the Government tried to satisfy…

On August 22, 2019, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (“SAMHSA”) issued a proposed rule amending the Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder Patient Records regulations set forth at 24 CFR Part 2. These regulations were initially implemented to provider heightened protection of patient records covering the treatment of substance use disorder (“SUD”) provided by certain federally funded programs (“Part 2 programs”). The proposed…