SCOTUS Halts Vax Or Test Rule For Large Private Employers But Lets Health Care Rule Take Effect
1/13/22
In two opinions issued today, the U.S. Supreme Court put a hold on a federal rule requiring large employers to adopt a vaccine or test policy but allowed the Biden administration to enforce a similar rule applicable only to …
Vaccine Breakthrough: Tort Immunity Under PREP Act Spurs Innovation
11/9/20
By: Kevin Kenneally
Recent news of possible imminent availability of groundbreaking COVID-19 vaccines has catapulted financial markets and infused optimism for recovery in global economies and the daily lives of people throughout the globe. These pharmacological and biotech advances were …
5/14/20
By: Janet Barringer, William Gildea and Kevin Kenneally
In the wake of alarming reports from other states that nursing homes were forced to accept known COVID-19 positive residents, a policy which may have caused the spike in healthy nursing …
Massachusetts: Relief Funds For Nursing Home & Other Long-term Care Facilities Fighting COVID-19
4/27/20
By: Janet Barringer and William Gildea
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced on April 27, 2020 the Commonwealth will allocate $130 Million to nursing homes and other long-term care facilities in Massachusetts to assist in the ongoing battle against COVID-19. The …
Georgia’s first taste of COVID-19 lawsuits in long term care facilities
4/27/20
By: Shaun Daugherty
It has been highly publicized that long-term care facilities were devastated by the effects of COVID-19 on its residents and the filing of negligence suits against long-term care facilities in its wake was inevitable. Four such cases …
4/17/20
By: Shaun Daugherty, Erin Lamb and Andy Treese
As doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, and other healthcare providers have thrown themselves wholly into the challenge of fighting the coronavirus, some have asked whether they are exposed to new or additional …
Nursing Homes at Highest Risk, States Respond
4/1/20
States across the country are taking every measure possible to fight the spreading deadly COVID-19. One of the most at-risk groups are the elderly, especially those with lengthy lists of other health problems. In those instances …
Telemedicine in a Time of Crisis
3/31/20
By: Shaun Daugherty
Social distancing has become a new phrase in our lexicon which has specific meaning and pervasive general understanding within the population. Telemedicine seems like the ideal format for delivery of certain medical services during the emergency period …
Practice of Medicine Without a License in Georgia Under COVID-19
3/30/20
By: Shaun Daugherty
In the early evening hours of March 23, Georgia’s Governor Kemp signed an executive order addressing the current medical crisis that has developed due to the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. Under this executive order, any “administrative rules that …
Federal Government Issues New CMS Guidance To Protect Nursing Home Residents From COVID-19
3/30/20
By: Kevin G. Kenneally, Michael P. Giunta and William E. Gildea
Nursing home and skilled nursing facilities have been particularly hard hit by the COVID-19 virus. The resident populations are uniquely vulnerable and outbreaks in facilities nationwide have sparked …
HHS Waives Some HIPAA Sanctions During the Coronavirus Pandemic
3/20/20
By: David Cole
The HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued two important bulletins this week in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Each one announced that OCR will temporarily waive certain sanctions and penalties for noncompliance with HIPAA Rules to …
U.S. Department of Labor Issues COVID-19 Guidance on FLSA and FMLA
3/20/20
By: Catherine Scott
As the federal government continues to grapple with questions from employers regarding COVID-19, the federal agencies have begun to roll out new guidance. The latest comes from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), which has issued guidance …