As of today, two separate United District Court decisions have enjoined CMS from implementing or enforcing the CMS Interim Final Rule requiring staff vaccination (“CMS Mandate”). In State of Missouri, et al. v. Joseph R. Biden, Jr., the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri ruled that CMS must suspend implementation and… Read More >
The holidays are fast approaching, and residents and family members will want to make plans soon to spend time together. With the strict restrictions of 2020 loosening somewhat, this holiday season will likely be a very busy season for both nursing facility visits, and for resident outings. On November 12, 2021, CMS revised its Nursing… Read More >
On November 4, 2021, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released the text of its long-awaited Interim Final Rule (“IFR”) entitled “Omnibus COVID-19 Healthcare Staff Vaccination.” On the same date, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) released the text of its IFR entitled “COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing ETS”. Both regulations contain official… Read More >
Since the formation of Latsha Davis & Marshall, P.C. in May 1994, founding member Kimber Latsha has served as the firm’s managing shareholder. Under his leadership, the firm developed a nationally recognized healthcare practice, providing the highest quality legal services to the long term care provider community. Thanks to Kimber’s focus and drive, our firm… Read More >
Following the Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County in 2020 and Executive Order 13988 issued January 20, 2021, federal and state agencies are revising their interpretation of “sex discrimination” to include discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation. On February 11, 2021, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development… Read More >
Effective January 19, 2021, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) finalized changes to various Safe Harbors to the Antikickback Statute. Importantly, the changes alter the requirements of the Personal Services and Management Contracts Safe Harbors, which are applicable to the vast majority of contract agreements… Read More >
On May 11, 2021, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released an interim final rule with comment period that establishes new COVID-19 vaccine immunization requirements for residents and staff.[1] The rule is scheduled to go into effect on May 21, 2021. Specifically, CMS added new regulatory requirements at §483.80(d)(3)(i)-(vii) (F887) for long-term care… Read More >
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued revised guidance yesterday afternoon regarding nursing home visitation.1 The substantive revisions to the visitation guidance are summarized below: CMS notes that outdoor visitation is still preferred even when the resident and visitor are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. (NOTE: Fully vaccinated refers to a person who is… Read More >
On January 8, 2021, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) issued an important Advisory Opinion regarding the liability protections under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (“PREP”) Act. The PREP Act provides limited immunity to “covered persons” with respect to “all claims for loss caused by, arising out of, relating to, or resulting… Read More >
With COVID-19 cases significantly rising across the country, access to and the distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine will be imperative to ensuring the health and safety of long term care residents and health care personnel who provide care to such residents. On December 11, 2020, the Food and Drug Administration issued an Emergency Use Authorization… Read More >
