By: Emily H. Lineweaver
On November 12, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated its COVID-19 nursing home visitation policy to now allow visitation for all residents at all times. CMS noted that, during this Public Health Emergency, restrictions on full open visitation had been put in place because of the clinical health ...
By: Emily H. Lineweaver
In early 2020, in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 during the Public Health Emergency, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) limited the number of onsite Medicare and Medicaid nursing home surveys. This created a backlog in facility complaint and recertification survey activity. The limited survey ...
By: Emily H. Lineweaver
In response to the Delta variant and the approaching holiday season, Governor Beshear issued an Executive Order on November 17, 2021, declaring that all individuals 18 years of age or older, living or working in the Commonwealth of Kentucky are now eligible to receive a booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Following the ...
By: Bethany Beal & Glen M. Krebs
Due to a new Biden Administration policy, certain spouses of H-4, L, or E visa holders will no longer face interruptions to their employment. The new policy can be found here. Highlights of the new policy include the following:
Certain H-4, E, or L dependent spouses qualify for automatic extension of their existing ...
By: Alexa J. Elder
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act was passed by Congress in 1996. Considered by some as the “most important law protecting internet speech,” Section 230 consists of two key provisions. Subsection 230(c)(1) provides that internet companies shall not be treated as the “publisher or speaker” of content posted ...
By: Emily H. Lineweaver
On November 9, 2021, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced its approval of an additional $42.16 million in funding for 75 applicants in Round 2 of the FCC’s COVID-19 Telehealth Program. This announcement brings the total now awarded under the program to $166.13 million. Round 2 is a $249.95 million ...
By: Emily H. Lineweaver
As we previously reported, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an emergency regulation effective November 5, 2021 mandating that all eligible staff of Medicare and Medicaid participating facilities receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Ten states have filed suit against the federal government in the ...
By: Mitzi D. Wyrick
OSHA ETS Challenges. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) is facing an onslaught of challenges to its recently-announced Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), which requires employers to adopt a mandatory vaccination or testing policy. At least 27 states (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida ...
By: Glen M. Krebs & Marianna J. Michael
As of November 8, 2021, the Biden administration’s much anticipated air travel policy is in effect. The policy’s hallmark is that it is consistent across the globe and guided by public health as opposed to restricting travel by country or visa status. Our friends at the American Immigration Lawyers ...
On November 2, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that children ages 5 to 11 years old be vaccinated against COVID-19 with the Pfizer-BioNtech pediatric vaccine, allowing providers to begin vaccinating them as soon as possible. Vaccines will be available at pediatric healthcare provider offices, pharmacies ...
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an interim final rule for the emergency regulation taking effect on November 5th, 2021, requiring all eligible staff of health care facilities covered by the regulation to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. In order to be in compliance, facilities covered by this regulation “must establish ...
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued the 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule on November 2, 2021, which, as reported in a Bloomberg Law report, “erases the 3.75% increase awarded in 2021 under the Consolidated Appropriations Act to “provide relief during the COVID-19 public health emergency,” resulting in a ...
By: Mitzi Wyrick
President Biden’s COVID-19 Action Plan implemented a national strategy to increase vaccination rates. As part of the Plan President Biden signed Executive Orders requiring that executive branch employees and federal contractors and subcontractors be vaccinated. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration ...
By: Mitzi D. Wyrick
In an attempt to give vaccination numbers a shot in the arm, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) to protect unvaccinated employees of large employers from the risk of contracting COVID-19 in the workplace. Covered employers must develop ...
By: Dan Burke and Liam McMillin
Apparently intent on avoiding the holiday rush, OSHA today issued its COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). Covered employers must comply with all requirements other than testing by December 5, and by January 4 for the testing requirements.
The details of the ETS are too numerous ...