Posts from November 2020.
California v. Texas and the Future of the Affordable Care Act

On November 10, 2020, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of California v. Texas, and in early 2021 the Court is expected to render a decision that will determine the fate of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”). The case itself, California v. Texas, was originally filed in 2018 on behalf of 20 states and two individual plaintiffs, and it sought to challenge the “minimum essential coverage provision” (also known as the “individual mandate”) contained in the ACA. Arguing the illegality of the individual mandate, these ...

Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Threaten Federal 340B Drug Pricing Program

Back in June, many of the health care providers in West Virginia (and across the country) began receiving letters from major global drug manufacturers. Some letters demanded that these organizations, who are considered “covered entities” for purposes of participating in the federal 340B drug pricing program, turn over voluminous amounts of information about patients who received discounted medications through 340B, seeming in clear violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”). Other letters just flatly announced that the ...

Interim Final Rule Issued for 21st Century Cures Act

Last week, on October 29, 2020, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (“ONC”) released an interim final rule that delays compliance dates for information blocking and other health information technology (“HIT”) requirements set forth in the 21st Century Cures Act (“Cures Act”). The ONC’s stated reason for this delay is the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, as the ONC previously had implemented the requirements in a final rule issued on May 1, 2020 (“Final Rule”).

Developers of certified HIT, health care providers, health ...