Last month, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law a dental hygiene bill that allows dental hygienists to use nitrous oxide and local infiltration anesthesia to assist dentists with all dental procedures. The bill, which was originally introduced in the State Senate in May 2021, amends section 6605-b of the Education Law effective immediately.

Over the last several years, the dental services industry has become increasingly consolidated, creating significant financial opportunities for investors as well as financial and exit opportunities for dentists. This consolidation has been driven in large part by Dental Services Organizations (DSOs) formed by dentists and/or private financial investors (e.g., private equity) through the acquisition of

On May 13, 2021, Rivkin Radler Partner, and former OMIG First Deputy, Robert Hussar kicked off Rivkin Radler’s new Healthcare Compliance Lunch and Learn Series. He interviewed Frank T. Walsh, Jr., who offered his first public comments since assuming his role as Acting NYS Medicaid Inspector General (pending State Senate confirmation).

Mr. Walsh provided health

On February 16, 2021, the Governor enacted the Child-Parent Security Act (“the Act”) through emergency regulations, legalizing compensated gestational surrogacy in New York State.

With gestational surrogacy, a surrogate gestates an embryo for the intended parents. The embryo may contain the genetic material of the intended parents or donor gametes. Traditional surrogacy, where the surrogate

On March 30, 2021, the New York Court of Appeals dealt a blow to the prosecutorial power of the Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs (“Justice Center”).  The Court, in People v. Viviani, et. al.[1], held that the statute providing for the organization of the Justice Center, Executive Law § 552,

The pandemic has prompted the reallocation of hospital beds from psychiatric care to treatment of COVID patients. This has occurred as mental illness has been on the rise. To cope with the insufficient number of psychiatric beds, it is important for hospitals to curtail readmissions. An often-underutilized tool to do so is the assisted outpatient

Spending time with family is always important, especially during the holiday season. The holidays are different this year, due to the pandemic, and spending time with loved ones in skilled nursing facilities requires additional planning.

In response to recent spikes in Covid-19 cases in skilled nursing facilities, the New York Department of Health in November

The Office of Inspector General, Department of Health and Human Services (OIG) has finalized new safe harbors and modifications of existing safe harbors under the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) to reflect a policy priority favoring a value-based health care system that “pays for health and outcomes” and that will “remove potential barriers to more effective

The COVID-19 pandemic has had another, less-discussed effect on hospitals. Hearings that traditionally take place in hospitals – such as guardianships, retention, medication over objection, or assisted outpatient hearings – have shifted to a virtual platform.

Below are some considerations for hospital personnel participating in virtual hearings.

(1) Familiarize yourself with the technology

Due to

The New York State Office of the Medicaid Inspector General (OMIG) instituted changes to its annual compliance certification process, effective immediately. These changes apply to those Medicaid, Managed Medicaid, and Service Bureau providers subject to the mandatory compliance program requirements in Section 363-d of the New York State Social Services Law (SSL) and the Deficit