Florida Gov Signs Sweeping COVID-19 Liability Protections Into Law

George Indest HeadshotBy George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On March 29, 2021, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill that protects businesses, governments, and healthcare providers in Florida from COVID-19 lawsuits if they make a reasonable effort to follow guidelines to prevent the spread of coronavirus (whatever that means). Specifically, the measure gives civil immunity to corporations, hospitals, nursing homes, government entities, schools, and churches as long as the alleged negligence doesn’t involve gross negligence or intentional misconduct. The House Passed S.B. 72 on March 26, in an 83-31 vote, and DeSantis signed it the same day he received it from the Legislature.

Why doesn’t this conflict with the Florida Governor’s ban on any mandatory masking, vaccination, or vaccination “passport” requirements? This is very unclear. Perhaps the courts will need to straighten it […]

By |2024-04-28T20:00:06-04:00April 30, 2024|Categories: Health Facilities Law Blog|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |Comments Off on Florida Gov Signs Sweeping COVID-19 Liability Protections Into Law
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Texas Hospital’s COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Upheld by Federal Court

George Indest HeadshotBy George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

As some states lift COVID-19 restrictions, the business community is still grappling with the dynamic between the COVID-19 vaccine and workplace operations. To address this, some U.S. employers have elected to adopt mandatory vaccination policies. These policies, in essence, require that, subject to a few exceptions, all employees must receive the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of continued employment.

Not surprisingly, we see various legal challenges to mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies across the country. On June 12, 2021, a federal court in Texas became the first to rule on the permissibility of such policies enforced by private employers. In a landmark ruling, the court stated that mandatory workplace vaccination policies are lawful under Texas and federal law and may be enforced as a condition […]

By |2024-04-21T20:00:10-04:00April 23, 2024|Categories: Pharmacy Law Blog|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |Comments Off on Texas Hospital’s COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Upheld by Federal Court
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University of Colorado Sued For Denying COVID-19 Vaccine Religious Exemptions

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On September 29, 2021, a pediatrician and medical student sued the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus (CU) for denying COVID vaccine religious exemptions. The U.S. District Court lawsuit argued that school administrators judge the validity of personal religious beliefs in violation of the First Amendment.

Religious Exception For COVID Vaccine.

Both plaintiffs are challenging the denial of their requests for religious exemptions from the school’s COVID vaccination mandate. The lawsuit alleges that the university arbitrarily grants religious exemptions to its vaccine requirement for all staff and students. It also claims that CU is approving requests that are based on organized religious beliefs that oppose vaccinations while subjecting requests based on personal religious beliefs to “intrusive religious inquisition to test the veracity of students’ and employees’ asserted religious […]

By |2024-04-21T20:00:11-04:00April 23, 2024|Categories: Medical Education Law Blog|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |Comments Off on University of Colorado Sued For Denying COVID-19 Vaccine Religious Exemptions
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Supreme Court Rules Against HHS in Hospital Medicare Reimbursement Case

Author HeadshotBy George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On June 15, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court said the federal government improperly cut more than $1 billion a year in Medicare reimbursements to hospitals.  This came in a ruling that limits regulators’ power to control what the program pays for certain drugs.  In this case, the Supreme Court justices sided unanimously with a group of hospitals suing over drug reimbursement rates for facilities that serve low-income communities. In writing for the court, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) improperly calculated reimbursement rates using a methodology Congress authorized for use only in limited circumstances.

Were the Reimbursement Cuts Unlawful?

The Supreme Court overturned a lower court’s 2020 decision that HHS had the authority to reduce the yearly Medicare reimbursement […]

By |2024-03-14T09:59:16-04:00November 18, 2023|Categories: Health Facilities Law Blog|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |Comments Off on Supreme Court Rules Against HHS in Hospital Medicare Reimbursement Case
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HCA Healthcare Data Breach May Affect 11 Million Patients

Author HeadshotBy George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On July 11, 2023, HCA Healthcare, which operates 180 hospitals in the U.S. and Britain, said a hacker may have stolen the personal data of about 11 million patients in a data breach. A press release warned patients that critical personal information had been compromised, including their full name, city, and when and where they last saw a healthcare provider.

What Happened to the Patient Data?

Data samples, including addresses, phone numbers, e-mails, and birth dates, were posted to DataBreaches.net (an online forum popular with cyber crooks) by a hacker trying to sell them. However, after publication, an HCA spokesperson told CNBC that the sample data set published was only a “marketing campaign” (or fake data) and was not an individual patient’s real medical assessment.

Who is Affected?

The […]

By |2024-03-14T09:59:18-04:00October 10, 2023|Categories: Nursing Law Blog|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |Comments Off on HCA Healthcare Data Breach May Affect 11 Million Patients
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Facebook’s $725 Million Data-Privacy Settlement’s Impact on Healthcare

Author headshot standing in dark suit with red tie against a dark grey backgroundBy George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law and Hartley Brooks, Law Clerk, The Health Law Firm

Facebook agreed to the largest-ever data privacy settlement in December 2022. The $725 million settlement comes after nearly five years of litigation and contentious negotiations.

The class action lawsuit revolved around allegations that Facebook had been sharing user data with third parties without the users’ consent or knowledge. The case stemmed from the 2016 investigation into the Facebook election scandal.

In that scandal, Facebook was accused of selling user data to a political consulting firm that then used the data to successfully campaign on Facebook’s platform. Facebook did not accept any liability or admit to any wrongdoing in the class action settlement.

Facebook has also more recently […]

By |2024-03-14T09:59:19-04:00October 2, 2023|Categories: Nursing Law Blog|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |Comments Off on Facebook’s $725 Million Data-Privacy Settlement’s Impact on Healthcare
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First COVID-19 Breathalyzer Test Authorized By FDA

Author Headshot

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On April 14, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency use authorization for the first Covid-19 diagnostic test that uses breath samples. The test, made by Texas-based company, InspectIR Systems, is authorized for those patients 18 and older.

InspectIR expects to produce approximately 100 testing instruments per week, which can each be used to evaluate approximately 160 samples per day. At this level of production, testing capacity using the InspectIR COVID-19 Breathalyzer is expected to increase by about 64,000 samples per month, according to the FDA’s statement.

The Testing Requirements.

The test can only be performed in environments where the patient’s specimen is collected and analyzed, such as doctor’s offices, hospitals, and mobile testing sites.

Additionally, the test must […]

By |2024-03-14T09:59:25-04:00July 20, 2023|Categories: Pharmacy Law Blog|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |Comments Off on First COVID-19 Breathalyzer Test Authorized By FDA
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From the archives: COVID Uninsured Provider Relief Fund Expected To Run Out of Money Soon If Congress Doesn’t Act

Previously published on April 19, 2022
Attorney and Author HeadshotBy George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

In 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) created the “Provider Relief Fund” (PRF) to help support healthcare providers in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. The federal program has served as a lifeline to frontline healthcare workers who’ve experienced revenue losses and increased demand for their services during the pandemic.

To date, it has allocated more than $178 billion in payments to over 410,000 providers across the United States. Click here to learn more.

COVID-19 Uninsured Relief Fund.

Let’s start with some good news: Under the COVID-19 relief funding, HHS created the “uninsured relief fund.” This program provides claims reimbursement to health care providers for testing, treating, diagnosis, and administering vaccines to uninsured individuals for […]

By |2024-03-14T09:59:25-04:00July 14, 2023|Categories: Pharmacy Law Blog|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |3 Comments
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Florida’s Protecting DNA Privacy Act: How Will It Affect Healthcare Providers?

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On June 29, 2021, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law HB 833, known as the “Protecting DNA Privacy Act,” which took effect in Florida October 1, 2021. Under the act, collecting or submitting another person’s DNA sample for analysis without his or her express consent now constitutes a second-degree felony in the state of Florida.  It amends Section 760.40, Florida Statutes, with the criminal penalties being set forth in Section 817.5655, Florida Statutes.

The new law clarifies the extent to which individuals own their genetic information. It also creates new crimes for the unlawful collection, retention, analysis, disclosure, or sale of an individual’s DNA sample and the results of a DNA analysis.  The act also has important implications for secondary uses of data by health […]

By |2024-03-14T09:59:27-04:00June 25, 2023|Categories: Health Facilities Law Blog|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |Comments Off on Florida’s Protecting DNA Privacy Act: How Will It Affect Healthcare Providers?
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COVID-19 Provider Relief Fund Expected To Run Out of Money If Congress Doesn’t Act Soon

Attorney and Author HeadshotBy George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

In 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) created the “Provider Relief Fund” (PRF) to help support healthcare providers in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. The federal program has served as a lifeline to frontline healthcare workers who’ve experienced revenue losses and increased demand for their services during the pandemic.

To date, it has allocated more than $178 billion in payments to over 410,000 providers across the United States. Click here to learn more.

COVID-19 Uninsured Relief Fund.

Let’s start with some good news: Under the COVID-19 relief funding, HHS created the “uninsured relief fund.” This program provides claims reimbursement to health care providers for testing, treating, diagnosis, and administering vaccines to uninsured individuals for COVID-19. It has paid out more […]

By |2024-03-14T09:59:27-04:00June 16, 2023|Categories: Health Facilities Law Blog, In the News|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |Comments Off on COVID-19 Provider Relief Fund Expected To Run Out of Money If Congress Doesn’t Act Soon
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