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APR
14
0

Proposed New York State Law Seeks Regulatory Oversight of Healthcare Transactions Involving Private Equity

In February 2023, New York State proposed Senate Bill S4007 , which aims to introduce regulatory oversight of certain healthcare transactions involving private equity firms. The proposed law would apply to various healthcare entities, including physician practices, home care agencies, providers of behavioral health services, physician groups, and M...
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  501 Hits
501 Hits
JUL
13
0

The Future of Your Telehealth Practice in a Post-COVID World

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw exponential growth in the usage of telehealth. In fact, early growth of the industry displayed a 78X increase in the utilization of telehealth services verses the traditional, in-person office visits. As of July 2022, the utilization of telehealth has stabilized at levels 38X higher than before the pandemic, d...
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  1104 Hits
1104 Hits
JAN
13
0

Wage Fixing Agreements Found to be Per Se Illegal. “No-Poach” Agreements Next?

In November 2021, for the first time, a Federal District Court in Texas held that wage fixing agreements were a per se violation of the Sherman Act that can be prosecuted criminally. The DOJ charged two employees at a Texas based staffing firm, for physical therapists and physical therapist assistants, with criminal wage fixing and conspiracy with ...
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  1743 Hits
1743 Hits
JAN
06
0

NEW YORK STATE PASSES LANDMARK PBM LEGISLATION

  2022 is here, and brings welcome news for independent pharmacies: New York State Governor Kathy Hochul has signed landmark legislation providing for oversight of pharmacy benefit managers, described as being "the most comprehensive regulatory framework in the country for Pharmacy Benefit Managers. "The new law should significantly benefit in...
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  1591 Hits
1591 Hits
APR
19
0

Waiving Copays for Financial Hardship – A Pharmacy Primer

Collection of copayments has traditionally been one of the more difficult aspects of pharmacy practice. Indeed, collection of copayments has become more difficult in recent years, as health insurers have steadily increased copayment amounts as part of the low-premium, high patient cost-sharing model. This has resulted in an increase of patients who...
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  2457 Hits
2457 Hits
OCT
09
0

Pharmacies are Eligible to Participate in Phase 3 of the CARES Act Provider Relief Fund

In some welcome news for providers, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced the commencement of the application period for the "Phase 3" distribution from the CARES Act Provider Relief Fund. As a health care provider, here is what you need to know: Purpose: to provide funding to providers who have lost revenues and/or increas...
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  2860 Hits
2860 Hits
MAY
29
0

Best Practices for Resuming Outpatient Elective Procedures, Post-PAUSE

New York State-based Ambulatory Surgery Centers, Office-Based Surgery Practices, and Diagnostic & Treatment Centers, following a pause of two months and counting, are eager to resume elective and non-essential procedures. Before doing so, it is important to address several key considerations, as well as have strong policies and protocols in pla...
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  2552 Hits
2552 Hits
MAY
20
0

Pharmacy Alert: Rochester Drug Cooperative, Following Bankruptcy, Ramps up Litigation against Pharmacies

The demise of Rochester Drug Cooperative ("RDC") continues, and this time it is retail pharmacies that must beware of the fallout. In March 2020—following numerous private, state and federal government-led lawsuits accusing RDC of being complicit in the opioid crisis—RDC filed for bankruptcy and sought to wind down its operations. As part of this, ...
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  2425 Hits
2425 Hits
MAY
18
0

Galderma Laboratories Lawsuits Update

Many pharmacies across the United States have received demand letters from Galderma Laboratories demanding return of funds paid in connection with the CareConnect Program.  Numerous suits have been filed in the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Texas.  Attorneys at Sauchik & Giyaur, P.C. are ready to assist...
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  3007 Hits
3007 Hits
APR
01
0

New Guidance Regarding SBA PPP Loans

The US Department of Treasury has released new guidance regarding SBA loans to be made under the Payroll Protection Program. Some critical points clarified by the Treasury guidance include: PPP loan applications will be submitted directly to SBA-certified lenders, who can begin accepting applications as of April 3, 2020 (April 10th for independent ...
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  2722 Hits
2722 Hits
MAR
26
0

COVID-19 Employment Law Q&As

​ Q.   As a New York State employer, what paid sick leave or family leave laws are currently applicable to my business? ​A.  New York State employers are currently/will shortly be subject to: The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (federal law passed in response to COVID-19 crisis) New York State Paid Family Leave law (passed in...
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  2627 Hits
2627 Hits
MAR
24
0

GOV. CUOMO, DOH COMMISSIONER ORDER FACILITIES TO INCREASE BED AVAILABILITY FOR COVID-19 PATIENTS

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and NYS Department of Health Commissioner Howard A. Zucker have ordered all medical facilities located in New York State— i.e. hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, office-based surgery practices, and diagnostic & treatment centers—to take certain measures aimed at increasing bed capacity for COVID-19 patients. An offi...
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  2704 Hits
2704 Hits
MAR
18
0

CONGRESS AND HHS ANNOUNCE SIGNIFICANT EXPANSIONS TO MEDICARE TELEHEALTH COVERAGE IN RESPONSE TO CORONAVIRUS

Congress recently passed the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, which the President signed into law. In an effort to encourage social distancing and increase access to care, the law significantly expands Medicare coverage for telehealth services. Specifically, Medicare will now cover nearly all telehealth service...
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  2354 Hits
2354 Hits
MAR
17
0

CORONAVIRUS EMERGENCY MEASURES: WAIVER OF STATE LICENSURE REQUIREMENTS, OTHER POLICIES GOING INTO EFFECT

  Federal and state governments are racing to implement emergency measures designed at containing and treating COVID-19. One such measure is the waiver of in-state licensure requirements for providers licensed in another state or jurisdiction. Presently, New York and New Jersey have not implemented such a measure, but approximately ten other s...
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  2328 Hits
2328 Hits
MAR
17
0

Telemedicine and COVID-19: Medicare to Reimburse Practitioners Treating Patients at Home

To encourage patients to seek medical attention from their homes rather than visiting a hospital or doctor's office ,  the Center for Medicaid & Medicare Services (CMS) will start reimburs ing  physicians and non-physician practitioners for "virtual check-ins" -- brief, virtual services with your established provider where the communi...
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  2910 Hits
2910 Hits
MAR
17
0

Laboratory Testing and Billing for COVID-19

Lab s performing diagnostic tests for the 2019-Novel Coronavirus ( COVID-19 ) have new HCPCS and CPT c odes for  bill ing and track ing new cases of the virus . T he Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) has  updated the ir  standardized coding system , which Medicare and other health insurers use to submit claims for servi...
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  2793 Hits
2793 Hits
NOV
06
0

Opioid Litigation Update: Invasive Subpoenas Issued to Pharmacies; Information Regarding RDC Sought

The New York State opioid litigation, led by private plaintiffs and the Office of the Attorney General of the State of New York, has taken another turn.Plaintiffs' counsel has now issued subpoenas to thousands of New York State-based pharmacies who are not parties to the litigation.These subpoenas demand a wide range of documents and information pe...
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  4414 Hits
4414 Hits
AUG
21
0

Important Client Alert - OptumRx Provider Manual Update

IMPORTANT CLIENT ALERT The latest edition of OptumRx (ORX) Provider Manual (2019 4 th Edition) contains significant new provisions pertaining to maintenance of records by pharmacies.We expect that, in connection with desktop audits, ORX may start demanding documentation additional to that routinely reviewed in the past and may potentially decline t...
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  7226 Hits
7226 Hits
JUL
22
0

Sauchik & Giyaur, P.C. secures reversal of network termination of five providers

Sauchik & Giyaur, P.C. (the "Firm") recently secured reversal of network terminations for five providers, ensuring that the providers continued as participating providers. The individual providers, who were part of the same practice, had received abrupt network termination notices from a prominent insurance plan. The Firm, on behalf of the prov...
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  3551 Hits
3551 Hits
APR
19
0

PharmacyFirst's Participants Are Hit With GER Clawbacks

Pharmacies are urged to take immediate steps to challenge PharmacyFirst's actions in connection with so-called "GER" adjustments. GER ("Generic Effective Rate") provisions were added in the past year to agreements between Caremark and PSAOs, including PharmacyFirst (formerly, Third Party Station). GER is thought to be the commercial plan equivalent...
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  3803 Hits
3803 Hits