Regs & Eggs

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Regs and Eggs, a blog by Jeffrey Davis, senior policy advisor at Holland and Knight, features analysis and commentary on federal regulations, policies and initiatives that impact emergency physicians.

 

Latest Posts

May 18, 2023 • Advocacy Info

“Eggs Over (Not) Easy”: My Last Regs and Eggs at ACEP

After five years at ACEP, four of which were spent writing this weekly breakfast blog (around 190 posts!), I have decided to pursue another opportunity. Beginning in June, I will start a new position ...

May 11, 2023 • Advocacy Info • Medicare Info • Physician Fee Schedule

ACEP’s Members Advocate for You!: Just Ask Dr. Jordan Celeste

Last week, ACEP held its annual Leadership and Advocacy Conference, where emergency physicians (including many of you) came together from across the country to learn new leadership skills, share stori...

May 4, 2023 • Advocacy Info • CMS Info

CMS Proposes Major Reforms to Medicaid: But A Missed Opportunity for Emergency Medicine

Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued two proposed regulations that, if finalized, would add new requirements that states must follow when operating their Medicaid progr...

April 27, 2023 • CMS Info • Medicare Info • MIPS Info

You Can Now Register for the Emergency Medicine MIPS Value Pathways (MVP): Here’s How

As you may recall, this year is the first year of a new reporting option in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) called MIPS Value Pathways (MVPs). MIPS is the major quality reporting progr...

April 20, 2023 • Advocacy Info • CMS Info

Unwinding: Threats and Opportunities as Medicaid Transitions to a New Normal

For this week’s Regs and Eggs, I’m turning the reins over to Adam Krushinskie, ACEP’s Reimbursement Manager. His name may sound familiar, as this is his second Regs and Eggs blog post. This week, he w...

April 13, 2023 • Advocacy Info • CMS Info • Medicare Info

CMS Finalizes Policies to Crack Down on Medicare Advantage Health Plans

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently took a major step forward in addressing some of the most egregious practices that Medicare Advantage (MA) private health plans are routinely...

April 6, 2023 • Advocacy Info • Opioids Info • Telehealth

ACEP Responds to DEA Proposed Rule on Prescribing Buprenorphine via Telemedicine

Thousands of organizations and individuals flooded the Regulations.gov webpage with comments at the end of last week responding to two regulations on telemedicine prescriptions: one related to bupreno...

March 30, 2023 • Opioids Info

SAMHSA and the DEA Release Guidance Regarding New Educational Requirements around the Treatment of Substance Use Disorder

Last week, I mentioned that we were waiting for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to release guidance on a mandatory ...

March 23, 2023 • Advocacy Info • Opioids Info

The X-Waiver is Gone… But There is a Lot More Work to do to Increase Access to Opioid Use Disorder Treatment

Many advocates of expanding access to opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment, including ACEP, rejoiced at the repeal of the “X-waiver” requirement for prescribing medications for opioid use disorder (MOU...

March 16, 2023 • CMS Info • HHS • Medicare Info

President Biden Releases the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Budget: What’s in it, and What Happens Now?

Last week, President Biden released his Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 President’s Budget. As a reminder, every year, the White House releases a Budget that serves as its official funding request to Congress f...

March 9, 2023 • Advocacy Info • ED Management

ACEP Responds to FTC’s Proposed Rule to Ban the Use of Non-Compete Contracts

Earlier this week, ACEP responded to the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s) proposed ban on non-compete clauses in employment contracts (ACEP’s press release can be found here). This reg, if finalized...

March 2, 2023 • Telehealth • Opioids Info

The DEA Narrowly Extends COVID-19 Telehealth Flexibilities for Prescribing Controlled Substances

Around 7 pm EST last Friday evening (February 24), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued long-awaited proposed regulations regarding the continued use of telehealth to prescribe controlled ...

February 23, 2023 • Advocacy Info • CMS Info • Medicare Info

ACEP Responds to Medicare Advantage Proposed Regulations as CMS Attempts to Rein in Some Bad Health Plan Behavior

Medicare Advantage (MA or Part C of Medicare) has been in the news a lot lately—and not in the best light. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) issued a report last November highlighting deceptive marketing pract...

February 16, 2023 • Geriatric Value-based Care • Telehealth

SPECIAL BLOG SERIES: Innovative Telehealth Models are Alive and Well in Emergency Medicine

It’s been a few months, but here is the fourth blog in a special blog series that ACEP is doing with the Geriatric Emergency Department Collaborative (GEDC), as well as West Health and The John A. Har...

February 9, 2023 • Advocacy Info • No Surprises Act

ACEP Court Room Advocacy: No Surprises Act Update

Update (2/13/23): As a result of the TMA II decision, the Departments have instructed independent arbiters to not issue any new payment determinations until the Departments have a chance to revise the...

February 2, 2023 • Advocacy Info • CMS Info • Telehealth

The COVID-19 Public Health Emergency is Coming to an End on May 11: Implications for Emergency Physicians and Your Patients

May 9 Update As the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) comes to an end on May 11, I want to remind you of what this means for emergency physicians. Please see this blog for details. Since I wrote ...

January 26, 2023 • Advocacy Info • No Surprises Act

ACEP and EDPMA Submit Letter to Federal Agencies with Key Recommendations on How to Improve the Implementation of the No Surprises Act

Last week, ACEP and the Emergency Department Practice Management Association (EDPMA) submitted a letter to the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and Treasury (the Departments...

January 23, 2023 • Advocacy Info • ED Management

A Game-Changer?: The FTC Proposes to Ban Non-Compete Clauses in All Employment Contracts

Update (1/23/23): ACEP is collecting stories of how non-compete clauses in employment contracts have impacted emergency physicians to inform its advocacy efforts. Submit your story on this anonymous f...

January 19, 2023 • Advocacy Info • Medicare Info • Physician Fee Schedule • Telehealth

Sign-on Letter Opportunity: Letter to CMS on Extending Certain Codes on Medicare Telehealth List Through 2024

As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, Congress decided, through the passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, to extend many of the telehealth flexibilities you all as emergency physicians ha...

January 5, 2023 • Advocacy Info • CMS Info • Medicare Info • No Surprises Act

The Year Ahead: Five Regulatory Areas to Monitor Over the Course of 2023

Happy New Year! Another year has passed, and a fresh one is now upon us. As we enter into 2023, I want to lay out some of the main regulatory issues (some new and some old) I’ll be tracking over the n...

December 29, 2022 • Advocacy Info • Physician Fee Schedule • Opioids Info • Telehealth

The Congressional Year in Review: The Highs, the Lows, and Some Hard-Fought ACEP Victories

I know what you’re thinking – “this isn’t my traditional Thursday morning Regs & Eggs content, so freshly delivered.” You’re correct. Instead, it’s Ryan McBride, ACEP's Congressional Affairs Director,...

December 22, 2022 • HHS • Opioids Info • Telehealth

SAMHSA Reduces Barriers around the Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder, But More Action is Needed!

Last week, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) took a significant step to helping to increase access to...

December 15, 2022 • Advocacy Info • CMS Info • ED Management

CMS Proposes to Streamline the Prior Authorization Process: Potential Effects on You and Your Patients

There is an across-the-board disdain in medicine for the increased use of prior authorization by insurance companies. I don’t think a single physician actually believes that this bureaucratic process ...

December 8, 2022 • HHS • Opioids Info

Aligning 42 CFR Part 2 with HIPAA: A Work in Progress

Some of you may be familiar with an esoteric regulation called 42 CFR Part 2 (Part 2), which governs the confidentiality of patient records for the treatment of substance use disorder (SUD). Part 2 in...

December 1, 2022 • Alternative Payment Model • Geriatric Value-based Care

SPECIAL BLOG SERIES: A “How-to” on Integrating Value-based Care Models into Existing Contracts

Welcome back to the special blog series that ACEP is doing with the Geriatric Emergency Department Collaborative (GEDC), as well as West Health and The John A Hartford Foundation! These blog posts del...