OSHA’S COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard: What Employers Need to Know

Policy, Firm Articles, Labor and Employment, COVID-19, Healthcare

  On June 21, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (“OSHA”) emergency temporary standard (“ETS”) aimed at limiting the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace went into effect.[1]  OSHA found, in part, that the COVID-19 pandemic “presents a grave danger to workers in all healthcare settings” and issued the ETS in response.[2]  Who is…

Hot Topics in Risk Management | Considerations for Requiring COVID-19 Vaccinations for Medical Practice Staff

Firm Articles, COVID-19, Healthcare

As COVID-19 vaccines become more widely available, health care organizations, medical practices, and other employers may consider whether, and under what circumstances, they will require employees to be vaccinated.  Employers who address this issue must balance the interests of patients and employees, who have a right to a safe office environment, with the interests of…

COVID-19 and M&A: The Pandemic’s Impact on M&A Transactions – Part One of a Two-Part Series

Mergers & Acquisitions, Policy, Firm Articles, Labor and Employment, COVID-19, Healthcare, Business and Corporate

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all aspects of business in the United States, M&A transactions in particular.   The global IPO market ground to a halt in March of 2020, and corresponding developments in the M&A market were felt almost immediately.[1]  By the end of March 2020, M&A levels for the first quarter of 2020 had…

Congress Passes Favorable Amendments to the Payroll Protection Program

COVID-19, Policy, Firm Articles, Labor and Employment, Healthcare

The Payroll Protection Program (“PPP”) continues to be revised in ways that are favorable to physician practices and other small businesses.  In May, amidst growing uncertainty about whether businesses that took out loans under the PPP would be subject to second-guessing regarding their certification as to their need for the loans, the SBA and Department…

CMS Restricts Medicare Accelerated and Advance Payment Program

Medicare/Medicaid, COVID-19, Healthcare, Firm Articles

On April 26, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) suspended Medicare’s Advance Payment Program. CMS’s Accelerated and Advance Payment Program (AAPP) provides accelerated or advanced payments to Medicare providers and suppliers during national or public health emergencies.  These expedited payments help provide funding when circumstances disrupt claim submission and claim processing.  Providers…