Health Care Today | Health Law Blog

There has been a lot of movement throughout the country on the state level to prevent patients from receiving surprise medical bills when they receive unanticipated care from out-of-network providers while seeking care from in-network providers. For example, in 2018, Missouri passed such legislation, which banned surprise medical bills for patients who are treated by an out-of-network physician at an in-network emergency room.

On April 23, 2019, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) published a Notification of Enforcement Discretion Regarding HIPAA Civil Money Penalties (CMP) outlining interim annual limits for HIPAA violations. HHS believes the revised annual limits “reflect the most logical reading of the HITECH Act.” These amounts are subject to change pending further rulemaking.

In November 2018, Missouri became the 33^rd state to approve the use of medical marijuana, and rules and regulations for medical marijuana are being drafted by the Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services (DHHS). On March 15, 2019, DHSS released more draft rules. Of the published draft rules, there is only one set that relates to physician certifications. However, hospitals and other health care providers will encounter numerous challenges once medical marijuana becomes available in Missouri in 2020.