Health Law Diagnosis

On September 9, 2021 President Biden announced a COVID-19 Action Plan entitled “Path out of the Pandemic” (the “Plan”) which comprises a six-pronged national strategy aimed at combatting COVID-19. The Plan includes a number of important provisions related to health care, including implementation of COVID-19 vaccine requirements and an expansion of resources available for treatment of COVID-19. The Plan signals significant changes upcoming for health care organizations, their employees, and their patients. The following summary…

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Connecticut Governor Issues Executive Order to Expand Patient and Provider Access to COVID-19 Vaccination Information

By Conor Duffy & Guest Contributor

September 9, 2021

On August 19, 2021, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont issued Executive Order No. 13C (the “Order”) to expand access to COVID-19 vaccination information for patients and providers (and school nurses) as public health authorities continue to promote vaccination efforts, implement recommendations for vaccine booster shots, and as schools adopt COVID-19 control measures for returning students and staff. The Order modifies Connecticut law to allow the Commissioner of Public Health to disclose information reported to the Department…

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Telehealth Confusion Could Create Issues for Physicians

By Conor Duffy & Guest Contributor

July 28, 2021

Below is an excerpt of a contributed article co-authored with Robinson+Cole Business Litigation Group partner Seth Orkand published in Medical Economics on July 27, 2021. How a hodgepodge of federal and state telehealth waivers creates compliance concerns for providers practicing across state lines. In response to the devastating COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the federal government and state governments took a number of overlapping actions to promote telehealth as an alternative method for effectively delivering patient…

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Connecticut Legislature Passes Act to Help Address the Opioid Epidemic

By Michael Lisitano & Conor Duffy

July 27, 2021

On July 6, 2021, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed into law Public Act 21-113 titled “An Act Concerning Opioids” (PA 21-113), which establishes pilot programs to help serve persons with opioid use disorder in urban, suburban, and rural communities, and requires the Commissioner of Public Health to issue and increase awareness of chronic pain treatment guidelines. PA 21-113 became effective on July 1, 2021. Pilot Program On or before January 1, 2022, the…

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OSHA COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard for Healthcare Industry Takes Effect

By Lisa Boyle, Conor Duffy & Guest Contributor

June 21, 2021

Below is an excerpt of a legal update co-authored with Robinson+Cole’s Environmental, Energy + Telecommunications Group partners Megan Baroni and Jon Schaefer. On June 21, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) adopted its COVID-19 Healthcare Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). Employers providing health care services will be required to comply with new COVID-19 specific standards it specifies. The ETS applies to all settings where any employee provides “healthcare services” or “healthcare support…

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Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont Signs Legislation Extending Expansion of COVID-19 Telehealth Services

By Michael Lisitano & Nathaniel Arden

May 18, 2021

On May 10, 2021, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed into law “An Act Concerning Telehealth” (the “Act”). The Act extends, until June 30, 2023, many of the COVID-19 related telehealth expansions issued by Governor Lamont through executive orders. A press release from the Governor’s Office expressed the Act’s purpose to extend the duration of the expansion of telehealth services permitted by Executive Order 7G (for our previous analysis of Executive Order 7G, see…

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Connecticut Extends Expansion of Access to Telehealth Services

By Conor Duffy

March 19, 2021

On March 14, 2021, Connecticut Governor Lamont issued Executive Order 10C (EO 10C), which extends provisions of Public Act 20-2 (PA 20-2), a law passed by the Connecticut legislature in July 2020 that “provided additional flexibility for the delivery of telehealth services and insurance coverage of these services” but was scheduled to expire March 15, 2021. As a result of EO 10C, the provisions of PA 20-2 that were scheduled to…

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COVID-19 Vaccine Update: HHS Expands Pool of Eligible Vaccinators under PREP Act

By Conor Duffy

January 29, 2021

On January 28, 2021, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a Fifth Amendment to HHS’s Declaration under the Public Health Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act) that provides liability immunity to certain individuals and entities arising from the manufacturing, distribution, administration or use of medical countermeasures (e.g., therapeutics and vaccines) against COVID-19. According to HHS, the new Secretary of HHS “has determined that there is an urgent need to expand the…

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OCR Announces it Will Not Impose HIPAA Penalties for Use of COVID-19 Vaccine Scheduling Apps

By Nathaniel Arden

January 21, 2021

The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) issued a notice yesterday stating that it will not impose penalties for HIPAA non-compliance in connection with a covered entity health care provider’s or business associate’s good faith use of online or web-based scheduling applications (WBSAs) for the scheduling of appointments for COVID-19 vaccinations during the public health emergency. The notice is retroactively effective to December 11, 2020. OCR highlights to covered health care providers and business associates that…

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In Anticipation of COVID-19 Vaccine Approval, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont Issues Executive Order To Facilitate Vaccine Administration and Reporting

By Conor Duffy

December 11, 2020

On December 7, 2020, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed Executive Order No. 9Q (the “Order”) in anticipation of the approval of COVID-19 vaccines. The Order addresses and expands COVID-19 vaccine administration, establishes flu vaccine reporting requirements for pharmacists, and limits out-of-network charges for administration of authorized COVID-19 vaccines. Specifically, the Order: Modifies Connecticut law governing the administration of vaccines to adults by licensed pharmacists to allow pharmacists to administer: (i) a COVID-19 vaccine that is…