Kristen O'Brien
Subscribe to Kristen O'Brien's PostsKristen O’Brien is an accomplished healthcare executive with a deep understanding of regulatory advocacy and healthcare policy efforts. Kristen offers a strong background and a keen eye for solutions to barriers and challenges impacting healthcare clients. With more than 10 years of experience, her work focuses on implementing new laws through the rulemaking process, as well as working with relevant agency officials to develop and improve agency guidance. Read Kristen O’Brien's full bio.
HHS Announces Record Number of ACA Marketplace Enrollments
By Debra Curtis, Kristen O'Brien and Erica Stocker on Feb 23, 2023
Posted In Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans
On January 25, 2023, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that more than 16.3 million people nationwide selected an ACA Marketplace health plan during the 2023 open enrollment period that ran from November 1, 2022, until January 15, 2023, for most marketplaces. According to HHS, total plan selections include 3.6 million people...
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Supreme Court OKs CMS Vaccine Mandate but Blocks OSHA Rule
By Abigail M. Kagan, Michelle S. Strowhiro, Sandra M. DiVarco, Kristen O'Brien and Lindsay Ditlow on Jan 18, 2022
Posted In Employee Benefits, Employment, Health and Welfare Plans, Labor
On January 13, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States released two emergency opinions that change the landscape of the three federal vaccine rules. In summary: A 5-4 Court majority let the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) enforce its vaccine mandate nationwide, impacting specified healthcare facilities. A 6-3 majority blocked the US...
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Fifth Circuit Brings Enforcement Back into the Mix: The Latest Court Moves with the CMS Vaccination Mandate
By Sandra M. DiVarco, Brian Stimson, Kristen O'Brien and McDermott Will & Emery on Dec 21, 2021
Posted In Employee Benefits, Employment, Health and Welfare Plans, Labor
A flurry of litigation in federal district and appellate courts has led to an even split between states in which the COVID-19 vaccine mandate issued by the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) may be implemented and states in which such implementation has been prevented. Additional appeals are expected shortly; however, the practical...
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UPDATE: CMS Issues COVID-19 Vaccination Interim Final Rule for Healthcare Facilities
By Sandra M. DiVarco, Gregory Fosheim, Lauren Knizner and Kristen O'Brien on Dec 2, 2021
Posted In Employee Benefits, Employment, Health and Welfare Plans, Labor
On November 16, 2021, 12 states—Montana, Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah and West Virginia—filed a complaint in the US District Court for the Western District of Louisiana requesting that the Interim Final Rule with comment period (IFR) that put in place the vaccination mandate applicable to certain covered healthcare...
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Federal Appeals Court Temporarily Blocks New OSHA Rule
By Abigail M. Kagan, Dawn Peacock, Michelle S. Strowhiro, Sandra M. DiVarco and Kristen O'Brien on Nov 9, 2021
Posted In Employee Benefits, Employment, Health and Welfare Plans, Labor
On November 6, 2021, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit temporarily blocked the Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) issued on November 4, 2021, by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requiring employers with 100 or more employees to implement COVID-19 vaccination policies. The ETS is stayed until further notice, halting its implementation...
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OSHA and CMS Vaccination Rules Released: Here Are the Details
By Abigail M. Kagan, Dawn Peacock, Michelle S. Strowhiro, Sandra M. DiVarco and Kristen O'Brien on Nov 5, 2021
Posted In Employee Benefits, Employment, Health and Welfare Plans, Labor
On November 4, 2021, the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) unveiled its Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) to protect employees of large employers in all industries from COVID-19. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) simultaneously released its Omnibus COVID-19 Health Care Staff Vaccination Interim Final Rule, applicable to most Medicare- and Medicaid-certified...
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Requirements Related to Surprise Billing: Policy Update
By Eric Zimmerman, Kristen O'Brien and Katie Waldo on Sep 9, 2021
Posted In Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans
The US Departments of Health and Human Services, Treasury and Labor, and the Office of Personnel Management issued an Interim Final Rule with comment implementing portions of the No Surprises Act, legislation enacted in December 2020 that bars surprise billing beginning January 1, 2022. Under the law, payers and providers (including hospitals, facilities, individual practitioners...
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