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Civil Law

Lawmakers Request Comments from Health Stakeholders on Medical Research and Care Delivery Reforms

On June 6, 2024, Reps. Diana DeGette (D-CO) and Larry Bucshon, MD (R-IN) released a letter requesting information from stakeholders on their 21st Century Cures initiative, a policy effort focused on medical research and health care transformation and reforms. With this opportunity to comment, the lawmakers have renewed their commitment to developing the initiative with the support of the health community, nearly eight years after the passage of the 21st Century Cures Act (Pub. L. 114-255).

Enacted in December 2016, … Read the rest

Civil Law

Important Changes to NY’s Health Care Proxy Law

As of November 2023, having a valid health care proxy became easier for New Yorkers. A health care proxy allows a competent adult to appoint an agent to make health care choices for them if they lose the ability to make those decisions for themselves. Two adults who are not appointed in the document must witness the signing of the health care proxy for it to be valid.[1]

The use of remote witnessing with audio-visual technology was permitted during the … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Tribal self-governance at center of dispute over federal health care costs

The Petitions of the Week column highlights a selection of cert petitions recently filed in the Supreme Court. A list of all petitions we’re watching is available here.

The Indian Health Service is an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services that administers health care programs for Native American tribes. In an effort to promote tribal self-governance, Congress allows tribes to contract with the agency to oversee these programs themselves. This week, we highlight petitions that … Read the rest

Civil Law

Join Kelley Drye for a Webinar with the Colorado Attorney General’s Office: Colorado Privacy Act, AI, and Teen Mental Health

Join Kelley Drye’s State Attorneys General Ad Law Team on Monday, July 24, 2023 at 3 pm ET for the next program in the 2023 State Attorneys General Webinar Series: Colorado Attorney General’s Office – Colorado Privacy Act, AI, and Teen Mental Health.

Special guest speakers Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and Nathan Blake, Deputy Attorney General for Consumer Protection, will join Kelley Drye State Attorneys General practice Co-Chair Paul Singer, Special Counsel Abby Stempson, and Senior Associate Beth Chun for … Read the rest

Civil Law

The Long-Term Health Care Industry Faces New, Intense USDOL Scrutiny: Make Sure You Are FLSA Compliant!

I have defended dozens of nursing homes, home health services, residential care centers and other health care providers in audits of their wage practices by the US. Department of Labor (“DOL”) and state DOLs. I have come to learn that there are unique wage hour issues and challenges in this industry and that many well-meaning employers, seeking to comply with the law, step on regulatory landmines and end up in trouble.

Well, buckle up. The USDOL is stepping up its … Read the rest

Civil Law

Shameless Plug: Reed Smith team authors product liability chapter for digital health law guide

As our loyal readers know, the blog has been keeping a close eye on plaintiffs’ efforts to apply product liability law to software . This is of course an area of keen interest to medical device, software, and tech companies active or entering the digital health space.

The blog’s own Eric Alexander, with Reed Smith co-authors Gerry Stegmaier, Jamie Lanphear, and Michael Rubayo, has now written a very thorough chapter on this subject for the International Comparative Legal Guides’ fourth … Read the rest

Civil Law

Guest blog: California expands scope of Confidentiality of Medical Information Act, strengthening protections for mental health information exchanged through digital health applications

By: Andrew Serwin, Kristi Kung, Bethany J. Hills, Christine Lentz

With the mounting mental health crisis intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic, the telemental health industry has exploded in recent years. According to recent estimates, as many as 325,000 health and wellness apps are available for download, and 10,000-20,000 apps have been designed specifically for mental health. Many of these programs require clients to record their symptoms, which has led to reports of privacy concerns, because these companies may profit from … Read the rest

Supreme Court

The return of the vaccine mandate for health workers and sovereign immunity for a Turkish bank

This week we highlight cert petitions that ask the Supreme Court to consider, among other things, the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for health care workers, and a Turkish bank’s immunity claim.

In Missouri v. Biden, the justices face a petition asking them to review on the merits the Biden administration’s vaccine policy for health care workers. The mandate requires nearly all health care workers at facilities that participate in Medicare and Medicaid to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 … Read the rest