Health Law Scan

The US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) released its new General Compliance Program Guidance (GCPG) on November 6, 2023. The GCPG is designed to serve as a reference guide for the healthcare compliance community and other healthcare stakeholders.

The US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) announced on April 25 that it would be updating its Compliance Program Guidances (CPGs).

The Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice has withdrawn three longstanding enforcement policy statements regarding the exchange of competitively sensitive information in healthcare markets, e.g., through market benchmarking surveys. While the recission of the guidance does not itself change the law on competitors exchanging competitively sensitive information through intermediaries, our antitrust and competition team explains how the move signals potential increased federal scrutiny of that practice.

Our immigration team recently published a LawFlash discussing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) new policy under which all applicants for a green card must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. This resource may be of interest to Health Law Scan readers, as this policy will impact green card applicants in the healthcare sector.

Substantial change is imminent for key labor law issues commonly affecting healthcare entities. Healthcare employers utilize handbooks and rules, implement property access controls, and engage in human resources investigations, for instance. All these areas, and more, are poised for change with the new Biden-Harris administration National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) general counsel memorandum, highlighting a swath of legal issues where the general counsel will litigate test cases to change the law.

Members of our labor, employment, and benefits team recently published a LawFlash discussing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA’s) updated nonbinding COVID-19 guidance applicable to all industries not otherwise covered by the OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard.

Our immigration team recently published a LawFlash analyzing the US Department of State’s July 2021 Visa Bulletin, which outlines per-country priority date cutoffs that regulate immigrant visa availability and the flow of adjustment of status application and consular immigrant visa application filings and approvals.

Members of our labor, employment, and benefits team have been busy providing analysis on continued updates to state COVID-19 rules and standards. We know these resources are valuable to readers of Health Law Scan, and we preview two recent LawFlashes that may be of particular interest to those operating in California and New York below.

Members of our labor, employment & benefits and healthcare teams recently published a LawFlash discussing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA’s) updated COVID-19 guidance for employers. The long-awaited COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) is effective as of June 10, 2021, but only applies to employers in healthcare and healthcare support services settings. Employers covered by the ETS have 14 days (from the date that the ETS is published in the Federal Register) to comply with most provisions, and 30 days (also from the date of publication in the Federal Register) to comply with the provisions related to physical barriers, ventilation, and training.

Members of our labor and employment and employment counseling teams recently published a LawFlash discussing the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC’s) long-awaited update to its technical assistance guidance on COVID-19 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Rehabilitation Act, and other federal equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws.