The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an updated Section 111 NGHP User Guide – Version 6.4, on June 11, 2021. CMS will now allow the termination of ORM if the following criteria are met. Where there is no practical likelihood of associated future medical treatment, which is reflected by meeting ALL of the following: […]
On 2/3/2021, Pete Buttigieg was sworn in as the 19th Secretary of Transportation. On 1/20/2021, President Biden issued an executive order on Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis. On 4/22/2021, in response to PresidentBiden’s executive Order, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) proposedwithdrawing the SAFE I […]
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) reports that the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate has reduced hours-of-service (HOS) violations by 50% since the initial rule took effect in December 2017. Over 8.8 million roadside inspections were conducted since that time with less than 1.25% resulting in citations for HOS violations or for failure to […]
The SMART Act requires CMS to annually review the costs associated with the collection of Medicare conditional payments and set forth a threshold amount applicable to settlements, judgments, awards, or other payments (TPOC amount) for which it will not seek recovery. The threshold amount for 2020 was $750.00. On November 25, 2020, CMS announced the […]
Effective Dec. 1, 2020, the North Carolina Industrial Commission has revised the filing requirement that triggers the submission of a Form 19, Employer’s Report of Employee’s Injury or Occupational Disease to the Industrial Commission. Specifically, the Commission increased the Form 19 filing threshold for medical compensation paid from $2,000 to $4,000. The revised rule – 11 NCAC […]
On 9/29/20, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) final rule updating Hours of Service (HOS) regulations takes effect for normal, nonexempt operation. The key provisions include: The final rule may be found here: https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmcsa.dot.gov/files/2020-05/HOS%20Master%20050120%20clean.pdf. On 9/4/20, the FMCSA announced a new pilot program allowing drivers between 18 and 20-years-old to operate commercial motor vehicles […]
In response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) the firm is taking action to continue serving clients while keeping the health of clients and our staff top priority. All our offices are currently operating with a remote workforce to help reduce the spread of the virus.
On 5/01/20, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced a change to the Crash Preventability Demonstration Program and Safety Measurement System (SMS) that will permanently exclude no-fault crashes when calculating a carrier’s safety score. Effective immediately, if the FMCSA determines that a crash was not preventable,it will no longer be included in the carrier’s […]
In Ex Parte: Builders Mutual (In Re: Palmetto Pointe v. Island Pointe), Opinion No. 27970 (May 13, 2020), the South Carolina Supreme Court held Insurers did not have a right to intervene in a construction defect action for the limited purpose of participating in the preparation of the verdict form to allocate damages, finding the proper […]
On 3/13/20, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued an unprecedented national emergency declaration to provide hours of service (HOS) relief to drivers transporting goods needed to respond to the Coronavirus Pandemic. Those commercial motor vehicle (CMV) operations exempted include those meeting needs for: Medical supplies and equipment related to testing, diagnosis and treatment […]
