Under the banner of strengthening consumer data protection, Texas is ramping up enforcement of its comprehensive data privacy act, sending a nationwide signal that Texas is serious about safeguarding the personal data of consumers.Continue Reading Texas AG Targets Data Use Under New Privacy Law
On November 25, 2024, the Illinois State Legislature introduced House Bill 5918 IL HB5918, the Artificial Intelligence Systems Use in Health Insurance Act (“AI Act”). It provides the Illinois Department of Insurance (the “Department”) regulatory oversight of insurers using artificial intelligence for determinations that affect consumers. The proposed bill grants the Department the ability to adopt rules, including emergency rules per the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, to implement and administer the AI Act.Continue Reading Artificial Intelligence Infiltrating Healthcare in Illinois and its Effects on Insurers
On September 28, 2024, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law California Assembly Bill 3030 (“AB 3030”), known as the Artificial Intelligence in Health Care Services Bill. Effective January 1, 2025, AB 3030 is part of a broader effort to mitigate the potential harms of generative artificial intelligence (“GenAI”) in California and introduces new requirements for healthcare providers using the technology.Continue Reading California Passes Law Regulating Generative AI Use in Healthcare
California is poised to pass a ballot measure aimed at imposing 340B spending restrictions for certain healthcare entities participating in the 340B Program who have historically engaged in spending that is not directly related to patient care and have also owned or operated multifamily dwellings with significant safety issues.Continue Reading California Votes to Impose 340B Spending Restrictions on Targeted 340B Providers
California Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 1120 into law, which is known as the Physicians Make Decisions Act. At a high level, the Act aims to safeguard patient access to treatments by mandating a certain level of health care provider oversight when payors use AI to assess the medical necessity of requested medical services, and by extension, coverage for such medical services.Continue Reading California Limits Health Plan Use of AI in Utilization Management
After its passage in the California Senate on August 31, 2024, Assembly Bill No. 3129 (AB 3129) is now headed to Governor Newsom’s desk.Continue Reading Update: AB 3129 Passes in California Senate and Nears Finish Line
The expanded use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the delivery of health care continues to receive increased attention from lawmakers across the country. Although AI regulation is still in its early developmental stages, there are various efforts underway to address the unintended negative consequences stirred by AI technology, particularly in health care and other key sectors.[1] Of particular interest are regulatory efforts to restrict discrimination through AI and related technologies.Continue Reading At a Glance: Legal Efforts to Limit Discrimination Through AI
On June 30, 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation to stabilize and promote the retention of California’s healthcare workforce in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This response included the allocation of $1.3 billion for retention payments to physicians and other clinical and non-clinical healthcare workers. California’s Department of Health Care Services (“DHCS”) will administer the distribution of those funds through its Hospital and Skilled Nursing Facility COVID-19 Worker Retention Payment program (the “WRP”). The program is designed so that WRP payments will first be made to eligible employers, who then will pass through the WRP funds to individual physicians and other healthcare workers. In order to receive WRP funds, California employers must register with and provide certain information to DHCS on an expedited timeline.Continue Reading Important Deadline Approaches for California Healthcare Employers to Apply for Worker Retention Payments
The Jackson v. Dobbs decision catalyzed a shift in the legal landscape of reproductive rights in the United States. The decision held that there is no federal constitutional right to an abortion, leaving the ability to regulate access to abortion services to the states. In the wake of this ruling, there have been a number of legal developments that range from states implementing laws that prohibit or restrict access to reproductive care, to federal agencies taking action to protect patient privacy and preserve access to reproductive care. Below are some of the most recent developments* at the federal and state levels:Continue Reading An Update on the Federal and State E-Roe-sion or P-Roe-tection of Abortion Rights
Texas HB 1445, which went into effect on January 1, 2022, exempts medical billing services performed before the submission of the relevant insurance claim from state sales tax. The new legislation legally exempts medical billing services from the statutory definition of taxable “insurance services.” Practically speaking, this relieves management services companies, and ultimately physicians and patients, from bearing the burden of tax payments of up to 8.25% for the provision of certain medical billing services. The legislation is hailed by many as a meaningful step in lowering needlessly high healthcare costs, which are felt by patients and providers alike.
Continue Reading Tax Break for Certain Medical Billing Services in Texas
Scope of practice expansion has been a hot-button issue within medical communities and state legislatures for more than thirty years. The debate is centered on what services advanced practice providers (“APPs”) who hold Master’s Degrees (e.g., Physician Assistants, Nurse Practitioners, Pharmacists, Dental Hygienists, etc.) should or should not be able to furnish in their professional practices. Scope of practice is defined by state regulatory boards, often based on limitations established by state legislatures.
Continue Reading Debate Continues Around Scope of Practice Expansion for APPs