May 1, 2019 Legislation

Healthcare

Hospitals

Healthcare

The FDA has finally stepped in and stopped the sale of vaginal mesh for prolapse.  They classified mesh as high risk several years ago and now have banned them altogether.  

Starting in January, 2020, CMS will begin its new payment structure for primary care physicians.  The program will be voluntary in the beginning and will base payments on performance.  They expect up to 25% of the primary care physicians to join one of the payment models.  

CMS has announced they will increase the payments for CAR-T therapy from 50% of the cost to 65%.  This is good news but that is still very short of the actual costs.  

HHS is changing how it fines organizations for HIPAA violations.  If the organization had no knowledge of nor culpability in the privacy breach the maximum fine will be only $25,000.  Those who did not willfully violate HIP/aa but had a breach due to reasonable cause will be fined up to $100,000.  Those who have willful neglect will be fined up to  $250,000.  The $1.5 million maximum will be only for those with willful neglect and who did not correct the problem quickly.          Top

Hospitals

The feds are requiring Modesto, California, long term facility Central Valley Specialty Hospital to get better in infection control and nursing in order to continue to be paid by Medicare.  

Washington State  has fined Tacoma's St. Joseph Medical Center $14,400.  The reason is a series of attacks on nurses by a patient in the psych unit.           Top

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DISCLAIMER: Although this article is updated periodically, it reflects the author's point of view at the time of publication. Nothing in this article constitutes legal advice. Readers should consult with their own legal counsel before acting on any of the information presented.