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Brian McGovern

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Brian McGovern is a partner at Crowell & Moring’s New York office.

Brian provides legal counsel and representation to health care and nonprofit clients. His experience spans the breadth of legal issues that confront the provider community, including counseling health care providers and managed care plans on regulatory compliance; responding to government audits and investigations, including Medicare contractor audits and New York State Office of Medicaid Inspector General (OMIG) and Attorney General Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) inquiries; overseeing or performing internal compliance investigations; advising on and negotiating managed care, vendor, and other contracts; providing counsel and advocacy on reimbursement issues; assisting providers on administrative applications and matters before regulatory agencies, including rate appeals, certificate of need applications, and property tax exemption applications and appeals; responding to patient-care survey deficiency citations; and representing providers in administrative proceedings and litigation in state and federal courts. The providers he has represented include nursing homes, home care agencies, hospices, hospitals, continuing care retirement communities, pediatric facilities, and managed care plans.

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On October 29, 2020, CMS issued the Home Health Prospective Payment System final rule [CMS-1730-F, CMS-1744-IFC, and CMS-5531-IFC], which permanently authorizes use of telecommunications technology as part of patient care under the Medicare home health benefit.[1]

The final rule is another regulatory step toward CMS recognizing the critical role of virtual care in the home health and other care settings, beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.[2]

Use of Telecommunications Technology in Home Health Services

In April 2020, CMS had initiated regulatory changes proposing to expand the use of telecommunication in the provision of home health services covered by Medicare.  CMS stated that its goal in expanding this permitted use of telecommunications technology in furnishing home health care is to “improve efficiencies, expand the reach of healthcare providers, allow more specialized care in the home, and allow home health agencies to see more patients or to communicate with patients more often.”

In the final rule, effective January 1, 2021, home health agencies (HHAs) will be able to use telecommunications – and receive reimbursement for home health services – under the following conditions:Continue Reading HHS Approves Telecommunications for Providing Medicare Home Health Services, on a Permanent Basis, Effective January 1, 2021

New York State is now considered the nation’s epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, far surpassing all other states in confirmed COVID-19 cases.  Managed long-term care plans (“MLTCPs”) and other Medicaid managed care organizations (“MCOs”) are facing unprecedented financial and other challenges addressing the care needs of their members as COVID-19 continues to ravage more and more New Yorkers.  Earlier this week, the New York State Department of Health (“DOH”) acted to secure regulatory relief from the federal government for MLTCPs and MCOs as well as Programs of All-Inclusive Care to the Elderly (“PACE”) Organizations from the growing financial stress brought about by the coronavirus outbreak.

In recognition of the challenges faced by health care providers and payors alike, on March 13, 2020, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, invoking Section 1135 of the Social Security Act authorized the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) to waive application of certain federal laws to ensure that sufficient health care items and services are available to meet the needs of Medicaid patients and plan members during the coronavirus public health emergency.  On March 23, 2020, DOH requested additional waivers from federal regulations under Section 1135 that impact among others, MCOs and MLTCPs, including:Continue Reading New York State Department of Health Seeks Additional 1135 Waivers From CMS To Alleviate Strain On Medicaid Managed Long-Term Care Plans and Other MCOs As Well As PACE Organizations Amidst Coronavirus Outbreak

In part two of this two-part series on what providers should know about COVID-19, hosts Payal Nanavati and Joe Records talk with Brian McGovern about guidance from state and federal health care regulators. This episode touches on how state agencies, CMS, CDC, and other regulatory bodies have instructed providers—especially nursing homes—on how to handle this…

The past week has seen daily action at the state and federal level that seeks to ensure that health plans and insurers are providing unrestricted access to testing for COVID-19 and for related services.  Health plans nationally have responded by adopting copayment and preauthorization waivers even where they have not been mandated.

Here are a few of the headlines:

On March 2, 2020, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced he would require state health insurers to waive fees related to coronavirus testing in the state in order to avoid cost as a barrier to testing.  To implement his directive, Governor Cuomo announced that the New York State Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) will promulgate an emergency regulation that (i) prohibits health insurers from imposing cost-sharing on an in-network provider office visit or urgent care center when the purpose of the visit is to be tested for COVID-19 and (ii) prohibits health insurers from imposing cost-sharing on an emergency room visit when the purpose of the visit is to be tested for COVID-19.  In addition, DFS issued other COVID-19 guidance to New York insurers, including: (a) directing insurers to develop robust telehealth programs with their participating providers, and (b) directing insurers to verify that their provider networks are adequately prepared to handle a potential increase in the need for health care services, including offering access to out-of-network services where appropriate and required.
Continue Reading Flurry of Regulatory Activity Driven by COVID-19 Anxiety Impacts Health Plan Requirements and Permissible Actions