By ROLF LOWE
Wachler & Associates

The Department of Health and Humans Services (HHS) Office for the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (NCHIT) and the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) will be releasing a new version of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Security Risk Assessment Tool (SRA Tool) in the upcoming weeks. The SRA Tool is primarily designed to assist small to medium sized health care providers and the requirement to perform a risk analysis.

The requirement for covered entities to perform a risk analysis is part of the HIPAA security standards and can be found in the federal regulations delineating the administrative safeguards covered entities must comply with. [Read More]

PEGGY KOZAL & KATHLEEN CAMPBELL WALKER
Dickinson Wright

The State of Texas filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration on August 16, 2024, seeking to vacate a rule requiring nursing homes that receive federal funding through Medicare and Medicaid to meet certain minimum staffing requirements. The lawsuit alleges that because 97% of all nursing homes participate in these programs, the Final Rule will impact nearly every U.S. nursing home. Texas is considered among those hardest hit by the Final Rule, with CMS estimating the state will have to hire more additional registered nurses (RNs) than any other state and spend half a billion dollars per year to comply with the [Read More]

By ALLAN DOBZYNIAK, MD
There was an article published recently (Healthcare Michigan August 2024) addressing the shortage of pediatricians. The article raises many additional questions regarding the physician workforce. Without question, continuing to decrease reimbursement, increasing maddening payment schemes and increasing regulatory requirements to pediatricians, and physicians in general, will have predictable results. There will be shortages. 

Hospitals do hire primary care physicians not because they are positive revenue streams but because these physicians use the profitable hospital services including lab, [Read More]

Lansing Lines is presented in cooperation with MIRS, a Lansing-based news and information service.

Local Pro-Marijuana Initiatives Kicked Off Ballot

An attempt to put a new local regulatory and licensing scheme for adult-use recreational marijuana shops will not be allowed to appear on the ballots in Farmington, South Lyon, Sylvan Lake and Wixom.

Why is State government—instead of local governments—charged with setting the rules for marijuana regulations? Because local governments oversee the sale of marijuana, but must follow the state’s guidelines.

The Michigan Court of Appeals’ published opinion  held that voter-initiated charter amendments are not a permissible method of implementing local regulations authorized by the state’s Michigan Regulation and Taxation Marihuana Act (MRTMA).

The [Read More]

By BERNARD J. WOLFSON & PHIL GALEWITZ

When Kamala Harris was California’s top prosecutor, she was concerned that mergers among hospitals, physician groups, and health insurers could thwart competition and lead to higher prices for patients. If she wins the presidency in November, she’ll have a wide range of options to blunt monopolistic behavior nationwide.

The Democratic vice president could influence the Federal Trade Commission and instruct the departments of Justice and Health and Human Services to prioritize enforcement of antitrust laws and channel resources accordingly. Already, the Biden administration has taken an aggressive stance against mergers and acquisitions. In his first year in office, President Joe Biden issued an executive order intended to [Read More]

By DANIEL CHANG

Illustration by Oona Tempest

Social media’s effects on the mental health of young people are not well understood. That hasn’t stopped Congress, state legislatures, and the U.S. surgeon general from moving ahead with age bans and warning labels for YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.

But the emphasis on fears about social media may cause policymakers to miss the mental health benefits it provides teenagers, say researchers, pediatricians, and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

In June, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, the nation’s top doctor, called for warning labels on social media platforms. The Senate approved the bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act and a companion bill, the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection [Read More]

By STEPHANIE ARMOUR

From his perch in the Trump administration’s Department of Health and Human Services, Roger Severino made a controversial name for himself, working to shield health workers who declined to perform medical procedures including abortion on religious grounds.

After President Donald Trump left office, Severino helped the conservative Heritage Foundation develop a plan to expand that conservative stamp to the broader department, recasting HHS with a focus on traditional marriage and family.

The vision is outlined in the Project 2025 “Mandate for Leadership,” a blueprint by the foundation and allied groups intended to guide the next presidential administration. It has emerged as a political flash point, as Democrats portray the [Read More]

By SUSAN ADELMAN, MD
This summer, the New York Times discovered pediatrics. The latest article, on July 7, was headlined “Why Students are Shunning Pediatrics.”  In it, we read that in the latest match (when medical students are paired with residencies), there was a 6% drop in students applying for pediatric residencies, and almost a third of the pediatric residency slots in the country went unfilled. That meant 252 positions vacant. The writer, a pediatrician, correctly blamed the relatively low payments for pediatric services, since so many of the children are covered by Medicaid.

I have been there. I can confirm that it is true. Now retired from pediatric surgery, I found [Read More]

Navigating the Post-Chevron Landscape: What Healthcare Providers Need to Know

 By DANIEL AYYASH & JOE VAN HORN
Wachler & Associates, P.C.

Overview

The United States Supreme Court’s June 28, 2024 decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless v. Department of Commerce to end Chevron deference marks a pivotal shift in administrative law, with potentially significant implications for healthcare providers. Chevron deference, a doctrine that compels courts to defer to a federal agency’s interpretation of ambiguous laws, has been a cornerstone of administrative law since the Reagan administration. The end of Chevron deference means that healthcare providers must prepare for a new regulatory landscape where judicial interpretations of agency rules may assume [Read More]

2024 Revisions to Part 2: Key Changes, Impact, and Compliance Tips

By ERICA ERMAN
Dickinson Wright

On February 8, 2024, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) finalized revisions to 42 CFR Part 2. Read on to learn more about Part 2, the changes, and helpful practice pointers.

Quick Refresher: What Is Part 2?

 42 CFR Part 2 is a set of Federal laws that house the Confidentiality of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Patient Records regulations. Part 2 stringently limits the use and disclosure of patients’ substance use and alcohol use disorder records.

Who Needs to Pay Attention to Part 2?

 Part 2 applies not only to “Part 2 Programs” but also to any lawful [Read More]