Compliance

The COVID-19 pandemic has vividly illustrated the high-stakes complexity of healthcare ethics and compliance. In the face of supply shortages, healthcare organizations have been forced to make life-and-death decisions regarding who can receive complete care and who can’t. But when confronted with these incredibly difficult decisions, a strong culture of ethics and compliance provides guidance.

Individuals who engage in fraud or abuse in the healthcare industry can put patients and taxpayers at risk of physical or financial harm. For this reason, the U.S. Office of the Inspector General (OIG) can exclude certain people or organizations from providing services under federally funded healthcare programs. 

On March 18, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) was passed in response to the spread of COVID-19. The act brings relief to states in need of funds to pay unemployment insurance to claimants. It commits $1 billion to cover the costs of processing and paying unemployment insurance, as well as 100% federal funding for extended benefits. 

On February 10^th, the California Attorney General’s Office published revised proposed regulations to implement the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).  The revised proposed regulations make a number of changes to the proposed regulations initially published by the Attorney General’s

In November 2019, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a rule on “bad actors.” The term refers to providers or suppliers whose histories demonstrate conduct or relationships that pose risks to taxpayers, patients or program

Some of the biggest lawsuits of 2019 involved massive opioid distribution companies. Multiple pharmaceutical companies are set to pay out hundreds of millions of dollars in damages to the states most affected by the opioid crisis.

Recruiting top talent in healthcare is no easy feat. With growing staffing shortages and a tight labor market, healthcare recruiters continue to face challenges unique only to the field. For example, according to research by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), only 39 percent of respondents said that they had adequate staffing with the right knowledge and skills at least 75 percent of the time.

The European Union’s (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which enforces a set of laws designed to protect European citizens’ personal data, went into effect on May 25, 2018. It affects all companies that deal with personal data, and even non-EU-based companies will still have to comply. GDPR impacts not just companies who are hiring in the EU but also those that are employing citizens of the EU who live in different areas of the world.

The 23rd Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA) Compliance Institute gathered more than 3,000 healthcare compliance professionals in Boston, Massachusetts last week. The Compliance Institute offers the opportunity to learn about the latest developments and priorities from regulators, and this year’s event was no exception. Despite the challenges from working in a highly regulated industry, there are many opportunities for compliance officers to strengthen their healthcare organization’s compliance program.

On March 27th, the House of Representatives passed HR 7, the “Paycheck Fairness Act,” by a vote of 242 to 187.  This bill includes several provisions intended to promote gender pay equity in the workplace.

Section 10 of the bill would amend the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to restrict the ability of covered employers to consider wage history information during the hiring process.

The bill would make it unlawful for covered employers to: