Click here to visit our COVID-19 resource center.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Monday, July 27
Coronavirus: Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby Introduces Legislation Containing $306 Billion in Emergency Appropriations Aiding Families and Businesses Suffering from COVID-19 Pandemic
Powers concluded its 2020 summer associate program last week, bidding farewell to Olivia O’Hea, who worked in the firm’s education practice, and Filzah Iqbal, who worked in the firm’s healthcare practice.
Click here to visit our COVID-19 resource center.
WHITE HOUSE UPDATE
COVID-19: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar Renews Public Health Emergency Declaration
Drug Pricing: Trump Administration Announces Executive Orders Aimed at Reducing Drug Prices
On Tuesday, July 28, CMS updated the COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) Billing to provide guidance on billing HCPCS code G0463 when a physician is providing a remote service to a patient in the patient’s home, which has been designated as a provider-based department. As we noted last week (see our memorandum of July 22), CMS has taken inconsistent positions on this issue in its Office Hours calls—first stating that billing a G0463 is not permitted, then stating that it is, and then reversing course again to prohibit it. In its first official written guidance on the subject, CMS changed course once again.
Powers Principal Brian Gunn was recently quoted in a Law360 article on the new coronavirus relief bill that was introduced by Senate Republicans, called the Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection and Schools (HEALS) Act.
July 26th, 2020 marked the 30th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a landmark civil rights law that represents the most comprehensive disability rights legislation in history.
Powers Pyles Sutter & Verville PC (“Powers”) is pleased to announce that Julie Allen has been promoted to Principal, effective July 22, 2020.
Powers Higher Education Specialist Sharon Bob will present at the virtual Accrediting Council for Continuing Education & Training (ACCET) Annual Conference on Thursday, August 13.
Click here for a PDF version of this memo.
On Tuesday, July 21, in a CMS “Office Hours” COVID-19 call, CMS provided the latest guidance on billing HCPCS code G0463 when a physician is providing a telehealth service to a patient in the patient’s home, which has been designated as a provider-based department. The guidance represents a departure from previous oral advice provided by CMS and is the latest twist in a confusing mix of written guidance and oral advice on the subject of how hospitals should bill for these visits.
Powers attorney Rebecca Burke will present a Strafford webinar titled “Remote Patient Monitoring: Navigating Reimbursement Changes, Privacy and Security Risk, Ensuring Compliance” on Thursday, August 6 at 1:00 pm.
By Katherine Demedis and Olivia O’Hea
Nine on IX: A Series of Articles Considering the New Title IX Rule
This is the first in a series of nine articles on the Department of Education’s new Title IX rule, which becomes effective on August 14, 2020. The series is focused on changes that schools will likely need to make to their existing Title IX policies to comply with the new rule.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced approximately $3 billion in funding to hospitals serving a large percentage of vulnerable populations on thin margins and approximately $1 billion to specialty rural hospitals, urban hospitals with certain rural Medicare designations, and hospitals in small metropolitan areas.
Powers Principal Bobby Silverstein was interviewed on “Barrier Free Futures,” a disability rights and services talk radio show on Santa Fe Public Radio.
Powers is pleased to announce that Taryn Couture has joined the firm as a Director of Government Relations, further expanding the firm’s legislative and regulatory advocacy talent.
Click here to visit our COVID-19 resource center.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Monday, June 15
Medicare: Bicameral Democratic Health Committee Leaders Write to HHS Secretary Alex Azar and CMS Administrator Seema Verma to Reassert Request for Special Enrollment Period (SEP) to Help Uninsured and Underinsured
This updated article provides links to, and briefly summarizes, legislation and federal agency guidance designed to ease the burden of the coronavirus pandemic on higher education institutions.
Powers Principal Bobby Silverstein gave a virtual keynote address at the Family Café, an annual event that brings together thousands of individuals with disabilities and their families for three days of information and networking.
Powers Principal Bobby Silverstein was a featured guest on a Women in Government podcast episode titled “Increasing Access & Opportunity: 30 Years of the Americans with Disabilities Act.”
