Legal Issues in Programming

Clarity and flexibility with respect to federal fraud and abuse law has been a consistent priority for Food is Medicine (FIM) implementers and advocates. This blog post explores considerations raised by a recent advisory opinion from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (OIG).  The OIG opinion recognizes the value of FIM as part of clinical care and the need for common sense […]

Challenges navigating the federal patient data privacy law known as HIPAA are often front-and-center in conversations between health care and community-based organizations (CBOs) interested in partnering to address health-related social needs. Many common questions about HIPAA come up: Under what circumstances can a health care organization share patient information with a CBO? Is the CBO […]

In a new letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), CHLPI and partner organizations lift up the voices of 35 stakeholders across 19 states.

Last month, CHLPI and 37 institutional and individual signatories sent a letter to the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) urging inter-agency collaboration to address policy barriers to Contingency Management, the only evidence-based treatment for stimulant use disorder. Contingency Management (CM) is a behavioral health intervention that rewards participants with incentives for achieving target […]

A growing number of health care systems are partnering with food banks, food pantries, and other community-based organizations, acknowledging the major role that food plays in impacting health outcomes. Yet, laws designed to protect patients in traditional medical settings have emerged as barriers to these innovative community-clinical partnerships.  A new resource by the Center for […]

By Daniel Necz, Harvard Law School LL.M Candidate, and Rachel Landauer, Clinical Instructor New research from North Carolina adds to the evidence that participation in nutrition assistance programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has a positive impact on health outcomes. However, the researchers also found that many study participants who were eligible […]

As communities across the country continue to grapple with the consequences of COVID-19, the health care system is called upon to address social determinants of health (SDOH). Some health system entities have concerns about supporting their patients in new ways while continuing to ensure compliance with health care fraud and abuse laws. This blog post […]

The Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation of Harvard Law School (CHLPI), together with Feeding America, the nation’s largest network of food banks, has released Food Banks as Partners in Health Promotion: Navigating HIPAA, a resource for food banks working together with health care entities while navigating federal patient privacy law.

Explicit protections under federal health care fraud and abuse laws for arrangements that support social determinants of health have the potential to profoundly impact Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries and others, and to help health care providers succeed in achieving value-based care. This is why we were so excited last October, when we wrote about proposed […]

Health care is a highly regulated industry with complex sets of rules put in place to safeguard, among other things, patients and federal health care program dollars. These legal frameworks, while important, were not designed with the current health care system transformation in mind and many stifle its implementation. Advocates working on the integration of […]

Over the years, the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation of Harvard Law School’s work with community based organizations, health care providers, payers, and government officials has highlighted that health relies on more than a visit to the doctor’s office. Emerging models of community-clinical partnerships address the ways that our homes, food, environment, and […]