Tag:Journal of Regulatory Compliance
Telehealth Services Amid a Global Pandemic
With COVID-19 rapidly spreading, telehealth services have been seeing an explosion of demand. On March 17, 2020, President Trump announced during a White House press briefing an unprecedented expansion of telehealth services for the 62 million Medicare beneficiaries who are amongst the most vulnerable to the disease. The Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) have since vowed to work with the administration by temporarily relaxing certain HIPAA, altering licensure, cost-sharing, and auditing requirements. As the number of patients increases, compliance and privacy risks associated with telehealth also surge.
SEC Adopts New Rules for Whistleblower Program
Twelve years after the 164-year-old brokerage firm Lehman Brothers collapsed during the global financial crisis that had been sparked by the subprime mortgage catastrophe, last month the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted a new rule changing parts of the agency’s whistleblower program. The program, which was established by the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010, permits the agency to provide financial awards to whistleblowers who provide it with original information about fraud and securities violations. At issue in this new rule is how the SEC will evaluate and apply its award criteria based on the circumstances in each case. Commissioners voted 3-2 to adopt the final rule – which is effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register – during their Sept. 23 meeting. The SEC said the new rule was aimed at more efficient claim processing, increased transparency to the structure used by the Commission in determining award amounts and making other changes that reflect the Commission’s experience overseeing the program.
Unsafe Landing Practices at Detroit Metro Airport
A whistleblower recently called attention to unsafe landing practices at the Detroit Metro Airport. The whistleblower, a veteran air traffic controller, has helped uncover dangerous flaws in the airport’s instrument landing system (ILS). This system emits radio waves that help guide approaching aircraft to the center of the runway. Air traffic control recordings attest to the danger, as many pilots have voiced complaints about the flawed system upon landing. Nevertheless, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has failed to take immediate corrective actions. The U.S. Special Counsel recently notified the President about this lapse in safety, but it remains to be determined whether officials at the Detroit Metro Airport have repaired or replaced the faulty system.
How Will Stronger Internet Privacy and Election Laws Impact Facebook?
During his election campaign, President Trump hired Cambridge Analytica, a political data firm, to gain access to the private data of more than 50 million Facebook users. The data included users’ personal identities, friend networks, and “likes.” The election campaign and Cambridge Analytica team used users’ data to target political and digital ads, increase online fundraising, and reach out to and sway undecided voters.
In 2019, following intense public criticism and accusations of political bias and censorship, Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, began advocating for the regulation of four areas: harmful content, election integrity, privacy, and data portability. However, no legislation has been passed, no regulation has been implemented, and Zuckerberg has not offered support for any proposals. A blank promise with no action. Congress needs to work with countries around the globe in order to regulate Facebook as a public utility and ensure that hate speech and incitements of violence are not tolerated.
DEA Introduces New Rule on Hemp Derivatives, Extracts, and Cannabinoids
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) recently published an interim rule on hemp and hemp derivatives to reflect the statutory amendments to the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) made by the Agriculture Improvement Act (2018 Farm Bill). This new rule modifies the DEA’s existing regulations in an attempt to conform with the 2018 Farm Bill’s purposeof legalizing and regulating the hemp industry.
Spotlight on College Athlete Health and Safety Amid Covid-19 Pandemic
As Covid-19 restrictions begin to ease, sports leagues are tasked with implementing safety measures in an urgent and effective manner. Despite the rush for normalcy amid trying times, mitigating further spread and risks associated with the ongoing pandemic are at the forefront of these efforts. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is among the first organizations attempting to resume operations while facing significant health and safety considerations.
Separating Boys and Girls in Illinois Schools
Single-sex educational opportunities are many and varied, from all girls or boys’ private schools and colleges to single-sex classes offered in some public schools. Title IX established the framework in which schools can establish these single-sex programs to ensure their fairness and constitutionality. Individuals advocate for these types of programs under the assumption that the programs help students achieve greater academic performance. While there is no conclusive research supporting this theory, the ample anecdotal testimony and success stories from schools with these programs, offer a compelling voice in support of single-sex education. Some of these success stories come from schools in Illinois where single-sex classes have been recently implemented into the curriculum.
College Football in the Time of COVID-19
Fall of 2020, like most of 2020, is looking different for everyone. While some schools are resuming in-person classes, other schools have chosen to resume online classes; while some people are returning to offices, other businesses have announced that employees will continue to work from home until at least July of 2021. The uniformity of our daily lives is gone, and that it is exactly what is happening with the different college football conferences for Fall 2020. With the National Collegiate Athletic Association “NCAA” having no control over college football, it was up to the Power Five Conferences to independently decide what each conference’s season would look like this fall.
Rule Changes, Regulatory Waivers Expand Access to Health Care Services During Pandemic
Recent regulatory waivers and rule changes by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) have resulted in a notable increase in patients seen remotely, according to two recent studies. The studies suggest that CMS regulatory waivers and rule changes, which included expanded access to COVID-19 testing and telehealth services in response to challenges faced by health care providers and patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, have increased remote delivery of mental health care and highly specialized clinical practices like plastic surgery.
DHS’s Partnership with Private Industries Leads to a Crackdown of Fraudulent Behavior During the Pandemic
After the COVID-19 pandemic spread to the U.S. in February of 2020, there was a surge in fraudulent behavior as criminals took advantage of the fear revolving around the pandemic to profit from selling defective goods and scamming the public. This has resulted in the loss of millions of dollars by the public. Scammers will continue to benefit and take advantage of the public until the government steps in and takes preventative measures to stop this criminal behavior during the pandemic.