Relaxed Regulations Bring Compliance Challenges, Attorneys Say

Compliance officers at health-care organizations should document and clearly communicate any changes in operating policies and practices resulting from ad hoc regulatory waivers during the coronavirus crisis, attorneys say.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Department of Health and Human Services’ inspector general have waived a wide range of federal rules in response to the pandemic. The aim is to increase hospital capacity, expand the health-care workforce, and allow facilities to care for Covid-19 patients without being overwhelmed by administrative burdens.

Although the flexibility is welcome, applying it presents its own challenges, attorneys said. Compliance officers must ...