From MedPage Today, posted on KevinMD:
The president’s move — combined with the earlier declaration of a public health emergency — gives Sebelius additional powers.
For example, the secretary can waive some of the rules governing Medicare and Medicaid under Section 1135 of the Social Security Act, as well as some of the privacy regulations under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
The waivers have to be requested on a case-by-case basis, and officials at the Department of Health and Human Services were not able to say immediately how long such approval takes.
Among possible scenarios:
* A hospital might want to set up an alternative screening location for patients away from its main campus — a move that would need a waiver of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act.
* A critical access hospital might ask to be allowed more than 25 beds and hospital stays of longer than 96 hours — requiring a waiver of parts of the code of federal regulations.
* Hospitals might need to transfer patients for screening or before they have been stabilized — requiring waivers under both the emergency treatment and privacy laws.
Filed under: Uncategorized
