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On March 11, 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 global pandemic, Governor John Bel Edwards declared a public health emergency for the State of Louisiana pursuant to the Louisiana Health Emergency Powers Act, La. R.S. 29:760 et seq. This is not the first time the Governor has declared a public health emergency for…

On April 20, 2020, the Louisiana Department of Health (“LDH”) Office of Public Health issued Healthcare Facility Notice/Order Notice #2020-COVID 19-ALL-10 (“Notice-10”) which supersedes prior notices and lifts some of the restrictions on medical, surgical and dental procedures as well as other healthcare services beginning on April 27, 2020.  All licensed healthcare facilities and professionals…

Physicians enrolled in Medicare are all-to-familiar with the constraints of the Stark Law which prohibits physicians from making referrals for designated health services (“DHS”) payable by Medicare when the physician (or immediate family member) has a financial relationship with the entity performing the DHS.  On March 30, 2020, CMS announced a number of Stark Law…

On Monday, March 30, 2020 the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) issued a notice in the Federal Register declaring certain goods as “scarce,” which means it is illegal to hoard those items. The DHHS is acting under authority granted by President Trump under the Defense Production Act of 1950 (the “Act”).[1]…

CMS has expanded Medicare telehealth benefits on a temporary and emergency basis pursuant to the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act.  Starting March 6, 2020, Medicare will pay for office, hospital, and other visits furnished via telehealth provided by doctors, nurse practitioners, clinical psychologists, and licensed clinical social workers.  The HHS Office of Inspector…

The COVID-19 pandemic is reshaping many areas of law and regulation as businesses grapple with maintaining compliance, while also responding to the fluid needs of their clients and employees. In an effort to ease the regulatory burden on businesses, certain government agencies have made announcements that their offices will exercise discretion or waive certain noncompliance…

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”), announced on October 2, 2019, that it had entered into a settlement with a private dental practice that had violated the HIPAA Privacy Rule by posting patient protected health information (“PHI”) on Yelp.  The OCR received a complaint in 2016 from a…

On September 10, 2019, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) published a Final Rule in the Federal Register which will require Medicare, Medicaid, and Children’s Health Insurance Program (“CHIP”) providers and suppliers to disclose current and previous affiliations with other providers and suppliers who CMS identifies as posing an undue risk of fraud,…

In December of 2018, the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners (“The Board”), approved adoption of an amendment to the rules governing the practice of telemedicine.  The Board published a Notice of Intent for the amendment in April of 2019 in the Louisiana register with the amended Rule becoming final on August 20, 2019.  Prior…