After considerable legal and legislative wrangling over the past year, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) announced on December 2, 2025 that it repealed the minimum staffing standards for long-term care facilities participating in Medicare and Medicaid programs due to its burdensome impact on facilities, “especially those serving rural and Tribal communities”, and concerns over patient access to care.
Last week, the New York State Court of Appeals addressed this issue of whether an insurer can deny paying no-fault benefits to a provider if they claim the provider violated licensing requirements by paying for patient referrals in Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO) v. Igor Mayzenberg.
As we explained in our previous client alert, at the time the government shutdown ended, it was unclear whether Medicare telehealth services provided during that time (October 1 through November 12, 2025) would be reimbursed. CMS has since issued updated guidance.
Congress has once again temporarily extended key Medicare telehealth flexibilities, this time through January 30, 2026.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a Request for Public Comment to gather feedback on practical approaches for measuring and evaluating the performance of AI-enabled medical devices in real-world clinical settings to help the FDA ensure such medical devices remain safe and effective throughout their life cycle. This move underscores the FDA’s increasing focus on post-market oversight of AI technologies, including generative AI, and their evolving behavior in dynamic healthcare environments.
