By JENNI COLAGIOVANNI & DANIEL AYASH
On November 1, 2022, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services published its Final Rule implementing changes to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for CY 2023. Included within this Final Rule are important changes for clinical laboratories that will take effect on Jan. 1, 2023.

There are two notable changes affecting clinical labs included in the Final Rule. First, CMS is implementing congressionally mandated changes to reporting obligations under the Protecting Access to Medicare Act, which updates reporting timelines and limits the phase-in of laboratory test payment reductions. Second, CMS is issuing regulations to both codify and modify policies on billing Medicare for specimen collection [Read More]

HHS Proposes Rule on Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder Patient Records

By ANGELINA M. GONZALEZ
On Dec. 2, 2022, the US Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to modify portions of Part 2 of Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations which protect the confidentiality of substance use disorder patient records. See 87 Fed.Reg. 74216. Currently, Part 2 imposes different confidentiality requirements for substance use disorder treatment records than the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 Privacy, Security, Breach Notification, and Enforcement Rules apply to protected health information. Thus, [Read More]

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

Health Officials Didn’t Need County Commissioners’ Signoff To Mandate Masks In School

The Ottawa County health department’s now-defunct mask mandates in schools did not require the county board of commissioners’ approval, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled.

The three-judge panel acknowledged the parents’ argument that the state’s Public Health Code, requires a board of commissioners approve or disapprove a regulation adopted by a local health department.

However, “there is no language indicating that the same approval process applies to an order issued by a local health officer,” reads the published opinion from Judges Jane Markey, Elizabeth Gleicher and Michelle Rick.

The plaintiffs, a half-dozen parents [Read More]

Proposal 3, arguably the top driver for many voters who headed to the polls today, passed today.

The proposal inscribes the right to an abortion, and other reproductive issues, into the Michigan Constitution after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized the practice nationally. It was projected by Mark Grebner of Practical Political Consultants to draw between 10,000 and 20,000 new young female voters.

“Michigan, we made it happen! Your votes helped #RestoreRoe and protect #ReproductiveFreedom for generations to co come. Thank you to everyone who volunteered, hosted a yard sign, and voted for #Proposal3 this election!” reads the tweet from Reproductive Freedom For All, the group that spearheaded Proposal 3.

Reproductive [Read More]

By FRED SCHULTE
Two-year-old Zion Gastelum died four days after receiving baby root canals and crowns at Kool Smiles, a private equity-affiliated dental clinic in Yuma, Arizona. In a lawsuit, which was settled in 2021, his parents accused the clinic and the investment firm of putting profits ahead of patient safety. The clinic and investment firm denied liability. The boy’s death was featured on ABC15 Arizona on Jan. 4, 2018.

Two-year-old Zion Gastelum died just days after dentists performed root canals and put crowns on six baby teeth at a clinic affiliated with a private equity firm.

His parents sued the Kool Smiles dental clinic in Yuma, Arizona, and its private equity investor, FFL [Read More]

By EWA MATUSZEWSKI
I was overwhelmed by the response to my October column on internships. It’s a topic that resonated with readers for varying reasons – whether they recalled fond memories of their own internship or saw the impact of internship programs, formal or informal, at their own organization. I want to continue in a similar vein this month by taking the logical jump from internships to mentoring. While I did include mentoring in the conversation last month, I didn’t really dissect it until someone recently asked me if I had a mentor in my early career.

It took me a split second to acknowledge one of my earliest mentors, Myra Lenard. [Read More]

By ROLF LOWE
Effective Dec. 1, 2023, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) announced in Medical Services Administration (MSA) Bulletin 22-38 that it will be eliminating the remaining temporary suspensions of certain provider enrollment and revalidation requirements issued in the spring of 2020, shortly after the COVID 19 pandemic and federal emergency disrupted the normal course of business for providers and MDHHS.  On April 30, 2020, MDHHS released MSA Bulletin 20-28, temporarily suspending certain Medicaid, Healthy Michigan, Maternity Outpatient Medical Services (MOMS), Children’s Special Health Care Services (CSHCS) and MI Health Link provider enrollment and revalidation requirements. The bulletin, which had an effective date of March 1, 2020, [Read More]

By ERICA ERMAN
One interstate compact you may not have heard of yet that could be very helpful for the behavioral health field is the Interstate Compact for Counselor Licensure. As of August 4, 2022, the Counselor Compact now has 17 members – Alabama, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia (the first state to enact the Counseling Compact), Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia, Utah – and The Compact became active when ten states passed it.

This month, the Compact Commission will convene for the first time in October of 2022! According to the Compact’s website, “The Commission will adopt initial bylaws and rules to carry [Read More]

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

Hospitals In Low Population Counties Could Become Non-Profits Under Bill

A Sen. Wayne A. Schmidt (R-Traverse City) bill allowing qualifying county hospitals to convert to non-profit designations heard testimony before the House Health Policy Committee and was voted out unanimously.

SB 1055 , which passed the Senate unanimously in June, was passed out of committee 18-0 after Schmidt testified in favor.

The bill would amend the Municipal Health Facilities Corporations Act to allow Helen Newberry Joy Hospital and Healthcare Center in Luce County to restructure as a nonprofit.

The county hospital is a 25-bed critical access facility that has been providing ancillary out-patient [Read More]

By EMMARIE HUETTEMAN
Half of voters say the Supreme Court’s decision overturning the constitutional right to an abortion has made them more motivated to vote in next month’s midterm elections, with enthusiasm growing especially among Democrats and those living in states with abortion bans, according to a new poll from Kaiser Family Foundation.

The survey also showed that most voters, whether they are Democrats or Republicans, do not think abortion should be prohibited in cases of rape or incest, nor do they support laws that set criminal punishments for abortion providers and women who have abortions.

The findings, collected in late September through KFF’s regular survey of public opinion on health care issues, highlight that [Read More]