The Medicaid Managed Care Rule (Final Rule) finalizes several new and updated standards to support and improve managed care accessibility, finance, and quality in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Recently released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the revised standards represent a significant step in aligning the Medicaid and CHIP managed care rules with regulatory changes in the private market and the Medicare Advantage program. In a companion blog post, we analyzed the funding and transparency changes to state-directed payments (SDPs) in t ..read more

The new Medicaid Managed Care Final Rule (Final Rule), recently released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), makes significant changes to state directed payments. The provisions in the Final Rule aim to enhance transparency and consistency in payments to managed care organizations, while also giving states greater flexibility in designing payment methodologies. An important addition to the Final Rule, the Informational Bulletin, provides significant enforcement discretion alongside these financing provisions. The Final Rule will significantly alter state financing of Medic ..read more

Children are generally recognized by both industry and government to be a vulnerable or special audience when it comes to advertising. On June 28, 2023, a new advertising code will be coming into effect as released by Ad Standards Canada. It is intended to expand upon legislative, regulatory, and self-regulatory regimes that already exist in Canada (including in Quebec). In addition, on April 25, 2023, Health Canada provided a policy update on restricting food advertising primarily directed at children. Read the full legal update here. The post Think of the kids: New restrictions on food and d ..read more

Between 60 to 75 percent of new COVID-19 diagnoses are now said to be attributed the BA.5 variant.  Health officials have advised anyone who has not had a second booster to do so now, with fears that existing immunity could be waning.  Researchers have branded BA.5 the worst variation yet, one that has increased the risk of reinfection, and in some reported cases, as early as four weeks after having COVID.  Several cities and counties are considering a return to indoor mask mandates as cases continue to rise.  Los Angeles County has announced it is planning to reinstate its ..read more

Today, President Biden announced that one million persons have died in the United States due to Covid. Unfortunately, deaths from Covid-19 are on the rise again sparked by Omicron variants.  The data on new cases are getting less reliable due to the widespread use of home tests.  As experts warn, while the numbers are encouraging when compared to a few months ago, Covid is still with us. The post A Solemn Milestone appeared first on Health Law Pulse ..read more

Yesterday, March 29, 2022, the CDC launched a new calculator designed to help individuals exposed to COVID-19 discern how many days of quarantine and/or isolation are necessary. This tool was created in order to aid in the prevention of spreading the virus. Users are first prompted to select whether they have tested positive for COVID-19 or whether they had close contact with someone who had COVID-19. From there, if the user has tested positive, the user answers whether they have symptoms. If the user has symptoms, the calculator asks about specific types of symptoms and after working through ..read more

On January 24, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced increased reporting thresholds under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976. Most importantly, the minimum “size-of-transaction” threshold will be increased from US $92 million to US $101 million; acquisitions below this threshold will not be reportable. The increases will apply to all transactions that close after the effective date, which is February 23, 2022. For more information on how the increased reporting thresholds could affect your business, see FTC announces 2022 HSR thresholds. The post FTC announce ..read more

Since its first detection, the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has been reported in numerous countries worldwide and in most of the United States. It is likely more transmissible than the other variants of COVID-19 and has officially surpassed the Delta variant contraction rates. As of December 25, 2021, the CDC reported the Omicron variant represents almost 60% of the reported cases of COVID-19 as compared to the Delta variant’s roughly 40% of cases. Today alone, the US reported a record of 282,000 new diagnosed cases. On December 28, 2021, the FDA announced its observations from a preliminary st ..read more

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) reported that the Omicron variant has been detected in all but sixteen of the United States. The Delta variant continues to be the main variant circulating in the United States, however. The World Health Organization (“WHO”) reported on December 14, 2021, that seventy-seven countries have reported cases of the Omicron variant. Even still, the WHO suspects that the Omicron variant is in all countries even if it has yet to be detected. WHO Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged that vaccination alone is not enough; everyone sh ..read more

On Friday, November 26, 2021, the World Health Organization (“WHO”) reported a new variant of COVID-19, the Omicron variant, was detected in South Africa. There is no indication the new variant is more contagious or more lethal, or that it is resistant to the COVID-19 vaccine. The WHO did report, however, that the Omicron variant carries with it a higher risk of reinfection. Experts believe more study is needed of this rapidly evolving variant before predictions can be made regarding the degree of transmissibility. Global markets reacted quickly to news of the variant. In response, and on ..read more