The New York State Department of Health (DOH) has extended the frequency for hospital medical staff recredentialing from biennial to triennial, effective May 1, 2024. The amended regulations (Title 10 New York Codes, Rules and Regulations §§ 405.4(b)(4), 405.6(b)(7)) state that the medical staff shall conduct periodic reappraisals of its members on at least a...

New York Governor Kathy Hochul and the State Legislature recently reached agreement on the State fiscal year (SFY) 2024-25 final budget, which continues investments in the State’s health workforce and reauthorizes certain workforce investments that were slated for repeal in the proposed Executive budget. The final budget does not include most of the workforce provisions...

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has said it will discontinue mandatory reporting of Hospital Respiratory Pathogen, Bed Capacity, and Supply Data—also known as COVID-19 Hospital Data—through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) as of May 1, 2024. Hospitals may continue voluntarily reporting COVID-19 data to...

On April 1, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued revised Hospital Interpretative Guidelines, which clarify hospitals’ informed consent requirements, particularly for sensitive exams and invasive procedures conducted for training and educational purposes. The guidelines were effective immediately. HHS also issued a corresponding letter to...

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released its much-anticipated final rule on laboratory developed tests (LDTs). As expected, the rule redefines LDTs as “devices” for the purposes of FDA regulation and enforcement. FDA is announcing a four-year phaseout of its enforcement discretion with respect to such tests with certain exceptions where enforcement discretion will...

The most important item in the final budget is a provision with modest immediate impact but major future implications. The final budget authorizes the development of a tax on managed care organizations (MCOs) to fund investments in the health care delivery system. The MCO tax is an essential building block for the runway we have...

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the US Department of Health and Human Services agency that administers most Federal health workforce programs, recently opened applications for the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) loan repayment programs (LRPs). NHSC LRPs provide certain health professionals—including physicians—who provide primary care and substance use disorder treatment services with up...

The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB), Intealth, and the Accreditation Council for GME (ACGME) recently established the Advisory Commission on Alternate Licensing Models to provide guidance to states seeking to create alternate pathways to medical licensure for international medical graduates (IMGs). The goal is to provide options for physicians licensed in good standing in...