March 24, 2022 By: Andrea Musker The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022, signed by President Biden on March 15, 2022, extends federal telehealth flexibilities beyond the expiration date of the public health emergency for a limited time. The public health emergency is currently set to expire on April 16, 2022, but it may be renewed for another ninety days ...
On 10 March 2022, the Cabinet Office published the long-awaited draft Terms of Reference for the UK COVID-19 Inquiry.1 In this article we consider the implications for businesses impacted by the pandemic and how they may wish to get involved in the Terms’ finalisation. Terms of Reference are critical to a public inquiry as they define its scope and purpose ...
Dinsmore employment law attorney Alyson St. Pierre authored an article for The Indiana Lawyer regarding a recent Indiana law that does not automatically grant religious exemptions from COVID-19 vaccinations and instead allows employers to investigate the validity of religious exemption requests. An excerpt is below ...
Following the passage of House Bill (HB) 122[i] and its corresponding expansion of telehealth services by Ohio health care providers, the State Medical Board of Ohio (Ohio Board) has released proposed administrative rules in furtherance of the recent legislation ...
Following a landmark judgment issued this week, every local council in England must now keep to fixed legal time limits when reviewing the needs of children and young people with special educational needs. The annual review process involving Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans will now be subject to strict timelines following R (L,M, and P, v Devon County Council [2022] EWHC 493 (Admin). EHC plans, which must be reviewed annually, will now have to be reviewed within 12 weeks ...
[!<CDATA[ The Sixth Circuit’s recent decision in St. Luke’s Hospital et al. v. ProMedica Health System, Inc.[1] addresses whether and when a unilateral refusal to deal can result in competitive injury within the meaning of the federal antitrust laws. The appeal centered on the significance of a “Change in Control” provision in a provider contract between St. Luke’s and ProMedica’s affiliated health plan, Paramount ...
As we await a formal announcement about how the UK COVID-19 Inquiry will be structured, we compare the different approaches that have been adopted by other public inquiries. Introduction Public inquiries are an important and increasingly utilised vehicle for change in society, but they are sometimes criticised for delay, for inefficiency and for providing recommendations that are not ultimately implemented ...
Effective Today, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) will no longer require vaccinated individuals to wear masks in all indoor public settings under its updated Guidance for the Use of Face Masks (Updated Guidance). This effectively lifts the indoor mask mandate in most California counties, both where local officials have aligned with CDPH Guidance, and where officials never issued their own local mask mandate ...
On November 5, 2021, CMS published an interim final rule regarding vaccination requirements for staff working for Medicare and/or Medicaid certified Skilled Nursing Facilities ("SNFs"). On December 28, 2021, CMS issued QSO 22-07-ALL covering the guidance and survey process related to these new regulatory requirements. This QSO is specifically applicable to California ...
Key Points As of January 2022, CMS is posting each skilled nursing home's weekend staffing levels and staff turnover rates on its public-facing Care Compare website. This information will be used in the Nursing Home Five Star Quality Rating System and will affect facilities' Five Star ratings starting in July 2022 ...
Key Points As of January 1, 2022, skilled nursing facilities are not limited to hiring licensed nurses to fill the role of infection preventionist. California still requires the total time dedicated to the infection preventionist role be full-time. In January 2021, Assembly Bill (AB) 2644, codified as Health & Safety Code Section 1255 ...
Regulation (EU) 536/2014 of the Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on clinical trials on medicinal products for human use (“Regulation”) came into force on 31 January 2022. The Regulation was adopted by the European Parliament in 2014 and released in May of the same year. It was subsequently officially published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 31 July 2021 and came into force six months after that date ...
In this article we look at the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the social and health care sector in the build up to the upcoming Public Inquiry, due to commence in Spring 2022. Upsetting scenes arising from the COVID-19 pandemic included photographs of bereaved families with only six people in attendance at family funerals ...
In a statement to Parliament on 14 December 2021, John Swinney, the Deputy First Minister, confirmed the appointment of Court of Session judge Lady Poole as the chair of the Scottish inquiry into the COVID-19 pandemic. The Scottish Government also announced the terms of reference for the public inquiry on the same date, with the inquiry investigating the period between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2022. You can read the full ministerial statement here ...
Due to emergence of the Omicrom variant, the new year brought with it some now familiar guidance: the government asked workers to avoid the office and to work from home where possible. In anticipation of returning to the office in early 2022, the Health and Safety Executive (the HSE) and the Scottish Government have issued guidance emphasising the importance of good ventilation and the role that plays,alongside other measures, in helping to reduce the spread of COVID-19 ...
This question was considered by the Employment Tribunal in the recent case of X v Y. In a decision that will be welcomed by employers, the tribunal held that such a fear is not a protected belief under the Equality Act 2010. The facts of the case The claimant brought proceedings against her employer for discrimination after she chose not to return to work in July 2021 with the result that her employer had stopped paying her ...
Private healthcare provider Bupa has been ordered to pay a purported record £1.04 million penalty (fine and costs combined) after admitting fire safety failings. London Fire Brigade, prosecuting, said it was the "highest ever fine for fire safety breaches in the UK, [highlighting] the seriousness of Bupa's failure to protect a vulnerable resident in its care ...
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation v. Accord Healthcare, Inc., Appeal No. 2021-1070 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 3, 2022) In this week’s Case of the Week, the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court’s bench trial finding that claims of a pharmaceutical patent were supported by adequate written description under 35 U.S.C. § 112(a) ...
On Dec. 22, 2021, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed “Esther’s Law,” allowing long-term care residents to install and use video cameras and recording devices in their rooms. The law is named for Esther “Mitzi” Piskor, who was a victim of elder abuse at a nursing home in Cleveland. Esther’s Law is intended to combat elder abuse and neglect and will likely lead to increased enforcement actions against Ohio nursing homes and long-term care facilities ...
Although the deadline for “incurring” CARES Act funds has passed, Alaska Native Corporations can still use CARES Act funds to pay for administrative and compliance related expenditures in 2022, including staff time spent administrating programs and CARES Act expenses incurred by December 31, 2022. According to U.S ...
With yet another recent uptick in COVID-19 cases, the need for additional health care practitioners in the state of Ohio continues to grow. Recognizing that this shortage will not be resolved in the near future, the Ohio General Assembly has eliminated another barrier for physicians with a prior history involving a substance use disorder to seek licensure in Ohio ...
As we get ready to turn the page to 2022, one hesitates to continue to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the fallout continues, with fresh ramifications for the long-term care industry. The industry continues to receive heightened scrutiny following the pandemic, and New York's legislative answer to the concerns are set to hit nursing home businesses in New York as of Jan. 1, 2022, with a cap on allowable profits. The impact on capital outlays and acquisitions remains to be seen ...
