Month: August 2020

Public Health Emergency and Telemedicine Update

telamedOn July 25, 2020, Health and Human Services Secretary Azar extended the Public Health Emergency (PHE) until October 23, 2020. As a result, several of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) temporary coverage and payment policies established under the PHE will continue Some of the continuing policies are: a twenty percent add-on payment for COVID-19 inpatients; mandatory coverage of COVID-19 testing without beneficiary cost sharing, and continued relaxation of the telehealth guidelines.

Closer to home, on July 31, 2020, Connecticut Governor Lamont signed into law Bill No. 6001 making additional modifications to the existing telehealth guidelines. The new law expands the clinicians authorized to provide telehealth services to include dentists and genetic counselors. In addition, the law allows out-of-state providers to provide telehealth services in Connecticut without a Connecticut license as long as certain criteria are met. The law also requires providers to limit reimbursement from uninsured patients receiving telehealth services to the Medicare reimbursement amount.

The provisions enacted under the new law are in effect until March 15, 2021 and apply to in-network providers of fully insured plans and providers enrolled in the Connecticut Medical Assistance Program. View more information on the provisions of the law.

University Training Policy

policy_training_universityAs recipients of Federal funding, the University is required to provide all employees and graduate assistants (collectively “employees”) and affiliated parties with training on the elements of the University’s compliance program and the University’s expectations that all will act in accordance with applicable laws, policies, and standards.

All faculty, staff, graduate assistants, and affiliates on all campuses, including UConn Health are required to receive compliance training, which may differ in type of training or frequency based on their role and responsibility.

Specific training requirements are determined based on an employee’s job function in conjunction with other University and UConn Health policies, laws and regulations. In addition, there may be requirements for employees to attest to having received training and understanding obligations and responsibilities.

Employees may be required to complete specialized and/or additional compliance-related training as needed for their positions or in an effort to maintain the institutions compliance with applicable laws and policies, whether those trainings are provided by the Office of University Compliance or another University office or entity with compliance-related responsibilities.

Review the policy.

Welcome Alyssa Cunningham

We are pleased to announce that Alyssa Cunningham has been appointed to the role of Assistant Vice President for Healthcare Compliance and Privacy. Alyssa is an experienced lawyer with 14 years of concentrated health care law, compliance and privacy experience, who joined UConn Health’s Office of the General Counsel in 2017. With the health care regulatory environment constantly changing, Alyssa’s legal experience, knowledge of UConn Health, and expertise in the areas of health care compliance and privacy will prove extremely valuable.

Alyssa will lead both the Office of Healthcare Compliance and the Office of Privacy Protection and Management.

As a reminder, the Office of Healthcare Compliance works to ensure compliance with federal and state laws and regulations as well as University policies. Healthcare compliance at UConn Health encompasses patient care, billing and reimbursement practices and employee and student education. The Office of Privacy Protection and Management at UConn Health serves as a central resource for healthcare privacy-related matters and assists with navigating applicable rules and best practices to protect the privacy rights of our patients and other constituents.