Health Law Advisor

As explained in greater detail by our colleague Stuart M. Gerson, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down two major, and quickly decided, rulings on January 13, 2022. After hearing oral arguments only six days earlier, the Court issued two unsigned decisions per curiam. A 5-4 decision in Biden v. Missouri dissolved a preliminary injunction against enforcement of an interim final rule (“Rule”) promulgated by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), requiring recipients of federal Medicare and Medicaid funding to ensure that their employees are vaccinated against COVID-19.

As we previously reported, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) interim final rule (“the Rule”) requiring full COVID-19 vaccination for staff and others at Medicare- and Medicaid-certified providers and suppliers (i.e., the “vaccine mandate”) has been challenged in the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern District of Missouri (“the Missouri Court”) and the Western District of Louisiana, Monroe Division (“the Louisiana Court”).  As of the date of this writing, both Courts have granted preliminary injunctions placing the Rule on hold.

On November 29, 2021, the Missouri Court granted a preliminary injunction of the Rule, which applies to the coalition of ten states [1] that filed the challenge there. The following day, the Louisiana Court entered a similar injunction, which applies to the remaining forty states.

[UPDATE, Nov. 30, 2021: The District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri grants injunction for the ten plaintiff states listed in the First Complaint.]

As we previously reported, effective November 5, 2021, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an interim final rule (the Rule) requiring full COVID-19 vaccination for staff and others at Medicare- and Medicaid-certified providers and suppliers as a Condition of Participation by January 4, 2022.

On November 10, 2021, a coalition of ten states lodged a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern ...

Our colleagues Joshua A. Stein and Frank C. Morris, Jr., at Epstein Becker Green have a post on the Health Employment And Labor blog that will be of interest to many of our readers: "The U.S. Access-Board Releases Long-Awaited Final Accessible Medical Diagnostic Equipment Standards."

Following is an excerpt:

As part of a flurry of activity in the final days of the Obama Administration, the U.S. the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (the "Access Board") has finally announced the release of its Accessibility Standards for Medical Diagnostic Equipment (the ...

As part of a flurry of activity in the final days of the Obama Administration, the U.S. the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (the “Access Board”) has finally announced the release of its Accessibility Standards for Medical Diagnostic Equipment (the “MDE Standards”).  Published in the Federal Register on Monday, January 9, 2017, the MDE Standards are a set of design criteria intended to provide individuals with disabilities access to medical diagnostic equipment such as examination tables and chairs (including those used for dental or optical ...

On December 31, 2016, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction that prohibits the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from enforcing certain provisions of its regulations implementing Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act that prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or termination of pregnancy. This ruling, in Franciscan Alliance v. Burwell (Case No. 7:16-cv-00108-O), a case filed by the Franciscan Alliance (a Catholic hospital system), a Catholic medical group, a Christian medical ...

On December 31, 2016, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction that prohibits the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from enforcing certain provisions of its regulations implementing Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act that prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or termination of pregnancy. This ruling, in Franciscan Alliance v. Burwell (Case No. 7:16-cv-00108-O), a case filed by the Franciscan Alliance (a Catholic hospital system), a Catholic medical group, a Christian medical ...

In May 2016, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) published a final rule implementing Section 1557 of the ACA. Section 1557 prohibits discrimination in the health programs and activities of “Covered Entities” on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. Section 1557 also imposes detailed and specific notice and disclosure requirements on Covered Entities, including, among other things, the requirement to provide information about the use of auxiliary aids and services, the adoption of grievance procedures, and access for ...

In less than three weeks, health care providers covered by the Affordable Care Act must meet various posting obligations required by the recently issued Section 1557 regulations. Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. has written extensively about the Final Rule, including the expansive nondiscrimination standards and the upcoming October 16 deadlines. While we encourage you to review these publications for more detail, covered entities urgently need to prepare by October 16, 2016, nondiscrimination notices and taglines to be posted (1) in significant publications or communications; ...

Our colleague Frank C. Morris, Jr., attorney at Epstein Becker Green, has a post on the Financial Services Employment Law blog that will be of interest to many of our readers in the health care industry: "New Online Recruiting Accessibility Tool Could Help Forestall ADA Claims by Applicants With Disabilities."

Following is an excerpt:

In recent years, employers have increasingly turned to web based recruiting technologies and online applications. For some potential job applicants, including individuals with disabilities, such as those who are blind or have low vision, online ...

When:  Thursday, October 15, 2015    8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Where:  New York Hilton Midtown, 1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019

This year, Epstein Becker Green’s Annual Workforce Management Briefing focuses on the latest developments that impact employers nationwide, featuring senior officials from the U.S. Department of Labor and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. We will also take a close look at the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act and its growing impact on the workplace.

In addition, we are excited to welcome our keynote speaker ...

By Frank C. Morris, Jr.

The Ebola virus disease (“Ebola”) has become a worldwide threat, which, among many other effects, has forced employers to think about how to protect their employees. Employers also must consider how Ebola might impact employment policies and procedures, including, but not limited to, those addressing attendance, leaves of absence, discipline, and medical testing.

My colleagues and I have written a detailed Act Now advisory providing legal framework of best practices and legal risks pertaining to Ebola.

Click here to read the advisory in its entirety.

Please join Epstein Becker Green’s Health Care & Life Sciences and Labor & Employment practitioners as we continue to review the Affordable Care Act and its ongoing impact on employers and their group health plans.

In less than a year, employers employing at least 50 full-time employees will be subject to the Employer Shared Responsibility provisions. Under these provisions, if employers do not offer health coverage or do not offer affordable health coverage that provides a minimum level of value to their full-time employees, they may be subject to a tax penalty under the proposed ...

On Tuesday, December 18, Epstein Becker Green attorneys Gretchen Harders, Frank C. Morris, Jr., and Adam C. Solander offered a one-hour webinar titled “What Employers Need to Know Now!” as the second webinar in a series on the New ACA Implementation Regulations: Employer Impact.

The webinar included:

• ACA implementation timeline
• Structure of the law and basic concepts affecting employers
• Critical employer decision making and planning for 2014
• Alternative plan design options available to employers

The webinar recording and presentation slides for “What Employers Need to ...

Frank C. Morris, Jr., Member of the Firm in the Litigation, Labor and Employment, and Employee Benefits practices is speaking at the 36th Annual National Labor & Management Conference on the topic of the Affordable Care Act and associated compliance issues facing employers and health and welfare funds.

The National Labor and Management Conference is recognized as one of the most outstanding labor and management programs in the United States, promoting discussion and collaboration on many levels. The program annually unites a diversity of labor and management leaders from ...