Category Archives: Office of Administrative Hearings

Federal Court Vacates Two, Medicare ALJ Decisions with Extrapolations

Today is April Fool’s Day, but the story I am going to tell you today is no prank. On 03/25/2024, the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Florida rendered its Decision on MedEnvios Healthcare, Inc. v. Xavier Becerra, in his official capacity as Secretary USDHHS. 2024 WL 1252264. The federal Court vacated two, ALJ Decisions upholding two, separate, extrapolated audits. This example highlights the importance of appealing ALJ Decisions to federal court, which will uphold the law versus CMS Rules.

MedEnvios is a durable medical equipment provider (DME). It was the target of two Medicare audits and both audits were extrapolated. MedEnvios’ argument is two-fold: (1) that its due process rights were violated because HHS failed to comply with the procedures set forth in statute, regulation, and “sub-regulatory guidance” that mandate “certain due process minimum protections be provided to health care suppliers in the statistical sampling and extrapolation process.” (Pl.’s Resp. at 9.) Specifically, MedEnvios objects to the Defendant’s exclusion of claims for which the Department never made a payment to MedEnvios from the sampling frame. Obviously if the zero-claims are not removed the number will be inflated or maybe even surpass what was actually paid to the provider during the specific timeframe. And (2) MedEnvios argues that the Defendant failed to provide sufficient documentation to support overpayments recalculated following partially favorable appellate decisions, allegedly depriving MedEnvios of notice. Following partially favorable decisions on appeal, the relevant contractor must “effectuate” the decision by recalculating the extrapolated overpayment amount to be recouped from the supplier based upon the revised decisions on individual sampled Medicare claims. The contractor then sends the supplier a revised demand letter reflecting the new overpayment amount. Without the underlying documentation showing how the contractor arrived at the new amount, MedEnvios claims that it lacked “the information necessary to mount a meaningful challenge to those recalculations.”

I bet that many readers today have felt the pain of having to defend themselves from an audit and knew the auditor was withholding data or documents, yet felt powerless. This Decision says it is not ok to not give all the information. The Court held that MedEnvios was and is prejudiced by the unavailability of the recalculation worksheets because MedEnvios did not receive three of the four relevant recalculation worksheets within enough time to satisfy its procedural due process rights by recreating the recalculations to verify the revised extrapolated amounts.

The Court held that the prejudice to MedEnvios in having to mount appeals without reviewing the contractors’ effectuation work easily outweighs any administrative difficulty of timely providing the worksheets. Provision of this information should be a negligible burden on the Department and its contractors. The MPIM already instructs that “[d]ocumentation shall be kept in sufficient detail so that the sampling frame can be re-created should the methodology be challenged. The contractor shall keep an electronic copy of the sampling frame.” MPIM § 8.4.4.4.1. Thus, contractors are already required to maintain this information, and the added burden of providing the information on request would be minimal. The Court therefore concludes that the Department has run afoul of MedEnvios’s procedural due process rights by failing to provide the documentation supporting the recalculated overpayment amounts.

So, what is the remedy for the Department’s failure to timely provide documents showing how the revised overpayment demands were calculated?

This Court vacated both ALJ Decisions upholding the two extrapolated amounts. This is a perfect example of why providers MUST appeal ALJ Decisions to federal court. The difference in the law and CMS’ Rules is vast. Not enough providers continue their appeal to federal court because of money. Litigation is expensive. However, in this case, attorneys’ fees were, most likely, much less than what CMS was alleging MedEnvios owed.

Have a great April Fool’s Day. Play a prank on a colleague. At the office, put tape under a coworker’s computer mouse, and watch them try to figure out why it’s not working!

Posted in Administrative code, Administrative Law Judge, Alleged Overpayment, Appeal Rights, CMS, Due process, Durable Medical Equipment, Extrapolations, Federal Government, Federal Law, Health Care Providers and Services, HHS, Knicole Emanuel, Legal Analysis, Medicaid, Medicaid Appeals, Medicaid Attorney, Medicaid Providers, Medicare, Medicare and Medicaid Provider Audits, Medicare Appeal Process, Medicare Attorney, Medicare Audits, Office of Administrative Hearings, Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals, Tentative Notices of Overpayment

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Tags: ALJ Decisions, Due process, Extrapolations, Knicole Emanuel, MedEnvios, Medicaid, Medicaid Attorney; Medicaid Lawyer; Medicare Attorney Medicare Lawyer, Medicare, Medicare Provider Audits, Medicare Provider Manual, Nelson Mullins

NC Medicaid Providers Lost Their Property Right in the Continued Participation in Medicaid, According to COA

Nov 22

Posted by kemanuel

According to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, health care providers possess a property right interest in the continued participation in Medicare and Medicaid. Nationally, the Circuits are split. The rule is, at least in the 4th Circuit, that termination for cause of a provider’s Medicaid contract is allowed, if the cause is correct and the provider was afforded due process. On October 5, 2023, the NC Court of Appeals deviated from legal precedent and ruled no property right exists in B&D Integrated Services v. NC DHHS and its agent Alliance. The COA held that Alliance, a managed care organization (“MCO”) could terminate any provider for any cause at any time for any reason. The 4th Circuit and I beg to differ. I read the Decision, and the Petitioner, unfortunately, according to the Decision, failed to argue that it has a property right in continued participation in Medicaid. I have no earthly idea why Petitioner argued what it did, which is that OAH has no jurisdiction over provider appeals and the OAH decision should be vacated. I have no idea why Petitioner thought that was a good argument. I don’t know if arguing the property right argument would have resulted in a victory, but, to me, it is the most compelling argument. Petitioner failed to argue that MCOs are paid by the tax payor; MCOs are not private companies, so MCOs are agents of the State and must follow pertinent regulations. Instead, Petitioner argues that OAH does not have jurisdiction???? Curiouser and curiouser.

That was not the right argument to make.

And now, unless the General Assembly changes the law, B&D Integrated Health Services v. NC DHHS and its agent Alliance Health, holds that “Alliance was contractually allowed to terminate the contract, with or without cause or for any reason, upon 30 days’ notice.” Which is precisely what I have argued against for the last 15 years or so. See blog. And blog. And blog.

These MCOs are bequeathed a fire hose of tax dollar money and whatever they don’t spend, they keep for bonuses for the executives. Therefore, it is in the MCOs’ financial best interest to terminate providers, which means all the terminated providers’ consumers are immediately cut-off from their Medicaid services, and the MCO saves money.

The following paragraphs are from a Decision from OAH holding that Medicaid contracts are NOT terminable at will:

“In determining whether a property interest exists a Court must first determine that there is an entitlement to that property. Cleveland Bd. of Educ. v. Loudermill, 470 U.S. 532 (1985). Unlike liberty interests, property interests and entitlements are not created by the Constitution. Instead, property interests are created by federal or state law and can arise from statute, administrative regulations, or contract. Bowens v. N.C. Dept. of Human Res., 710 F.2d 1015, 1018 (4th Cir. 1983). Under North Carolina case law, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has determined that North Carolina Medicaid providers have a property interest in continued provider status. Bowens, 710 F.2d 1018. In Bowens, the Fourth Circuit recognized that North Carolina provider appeals process created a due process property interest in a Medicaid provider’s continued provision of services, and could not be terminated “at the will of the state.” The court determined that these safeguards, which included a hearing and standards for review, indicated that the provider’s participation was not “terminable at will.” Id. The court held that these safeguards created an entitlement for the provider, because it limits the grounds for his termination such that the contract was not terminable “at will” but only for cause, and that such cause was reviewable. The Fourth Circuit reached the same result in Ram v. Heckler, 792 F.2d 444 (4th Cir. 1986) two years later. Since the Court’s decision in Bowen, a North Carolina Medicaid provider’s right to continued participation has been strengthened through the passage of Chapter 108C. Chapter 108C expressly creates a right for existing Medicaid providers to challenge a decision to terminate participation in the Medicaid program in the Office of Administrative Hearings. It also makes such reviews subject to the standards of Article 3 of the APA. Therefore, North Carolina law now contains a statutory process that confers an entitlement to Medicaid providers. Chapter 108C sets forth the procedure and substantive standards for which OAH is to operate and gives rise to the property right recognized in Bowens and Ram. Under Chapter 108C, providers have a statutory expectation that a decision to terminate participation will not violate the standards of Article 3 of the APA. The enactment of Chapter 108C gives a providers a right to not be terminated in a manner that (1) violates the law; (2) is in excess of the Department’s authority; (3) is erroneous; (4) is made without using proper procedures; or (5) is arbitrary and capricious. To conclude otherwise would nullify the General Assembly’s will by disregarding the rights conferred on providers by Chapter 108C. This expectation cannot be diminished by a regulation promulgated by the DMA which states that provider’s do not have a right to continued participation in the Medicaid program because under the analysis in Bowen the General Assembly created the property right through statutory enactment.” Carolina Comm. Support Serv, Inc., at 22.

Carolina Comm. Support Serv., Inc. v. Alliance Behavioral Healthcare, 14 DHR 1500, April 2, 2015.

ALJ Decisions determining a property right exists went on to be upheld by the 4^th Circuit. However, this new NC COA decision, B&D Integrated Health v. NC DHHS, threatens all providers. The reason that termination at will does not work for Medicare and Medicaid versus a private companies’ right to terminate:

These are our tax dollars, not private money.
It allows discrimination.
It allows subjectivity.
It allows bias.
It allows an entity to overnight prevent consumers from receiving medically necessary health care services.
It allows for an entity to, overnight, cause hundreds of staff members to lose their jobs.

B&D Integrated Health v. NC DHHS is a bad decision for health care providers. The Petitioner lost its case because it made the wrong argument. Its argument that administrative courts have no jurisdiction was a losing argument. Now State and federal contractors have more power to be subjective and discriminatory.

Now we have NC case law in State Court that fails to follow federal case law in the 4th Circuit.

Posted in Access to Care, Administrative Law Judge, Alliance, Behavioral health, Knicole Emanuel, Lawsuit, Legal Analysis, Managed Care, MCO, Medicaid, Medicaid Advocate, Medicaid Appeals, Medicaid Attorney, Medicaid Audits, Medicaid Contracts, Medicaid Providers, Medicaid Reimbursements, Medicare, Medicare Attorney, Medicare Audits, NC DHHS, North Carolina, North Carolina Medicaid Rules, Regulations, Policies, and Statutes, OAH, Office of Administrative Hearings, Petitions for Contested Cases, Provider Appeals of Adverse Decisions for Medicare and Medicaid, Provider Medicaid Contracts, Tax Dollars, Termination of Medicaid Contract

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Tags: Alliance, B&D Integrated Health v. NC DHHS, Health care provider, Knicole Emanuel, Managed Care Organizations, Medicaid, Medicaid Attorney; Medicaid Lawyer; Medicare Attorney Medicare Lawyer, Medicare, NC DHHS, North Carolina, Office of Administrative Hearings, Property Rights in Medicaid Contracts

Medicare Extrapolation Under 50% Error Rate? No Extrapolation ALLOWED!

May 8

Posted by kemanuel

Earlier this year, I reported on the new extrapolation rules for all audits, including RAC, UPIC, TPE, CERT, etc. You know, that alphabet soup. The biggest change was that no extrapolation may be run if the error rate is under 50%. This was an exciting and unexpected new protection for health care providers. Now I have seen it in action and want to tell you about it.

A client of mine, an internal medicine facility in Alabama, received a notice of overpayment for over $3 million. This is the first case in which I saw the 50% error rate rule in action. Normally, I always tell clients that the first two levels of appeals are rubber-stamps. In other words, don’t expect to win. The QIC and the entity that conducted the audit saying you owe money are not going to overturn themselves. However, in this case, we were “partially favorable” at the QIC level. “Partially favorable” normally means mostly unfavorable. However, the partially favorable decision took the error rate from over 50% to under 50%. We re-grouped. Obviously, we were going to appeal because the new extrapolation was still over $1 million. However, before our ALJ hearing, we received correspondence from Palmetto that said our overpayment was $0. Confused, we wrote to the ALJ pointing out that Palmetto said our balance was zero. The Judge wrote back saying that, certainly, the money has already been recouped and the practice would get a refund if he reversed the denials.” “Ok,” we said and attended a telephonic hearing. We were unsuccessful at the hearing, and the ALJ upheld an alleged overpayment of over $1 million. We argued that the extrapolation should be thrown out due to the error rate being under 50%. The Judge still ruled against us, saying that CMS has the right to extrapolate, and the courts have upheld CMS’ ability to extrapolate. Ok, but what about the NEW RULE?

Later, we contacted Palmetto to confirm what the zero-balance meant. The letter read as if we did not owe anything, yet we had an ALJ decision mandating us to pay over a $1million. There was serious juxtaposition. After many hours of chasing answers on hold with multiple telephone answerers of Palmetto, we learned that, apparently, because the error rate dropped below 50% after the QIC level, Palmetto “wrote off” the nominal balance. Since an extrapolation was no longer allowed, the miniscule amount that Palmetto thought we owed wasn’t enough to pursue. However, the letter sent to us from Palmetto did not explain, “hey, we are writing off your overpayment because the error rate fell below 50%.” No, it was vague. We didn’t even know if it were true.

It took us reaching out to Palmetto and getting an email confirmation that Palmetto had written off the alleged overpayment due to the error rate dropping. Even the ALJ misinterpreted the letter, which tells me that Palmetto should revise its notices of write offs.

If Palmetto unilaterally dismisses or writes off any balance that is allegedly owed, the letter should explicitly explain this. Because providers and attorneys are not accustomed to receiving correspondence from a MAC, CMS, Palmetto, or any other auditing entity with GOOD NEWS. If we get GOOD NEWS from an auditing entity, that correspondence should be explicit.

Regardless, this was a huge win for me and my client, who was positively ecstatic with the outcome. Tune in next week, during which I will tell a story of how we battled successfully a qui tam action against a facility of 9 specialists due to a disgruntled employee who tried to blow the whistle on my specialists and their facility…falsely!

Posted in Administrative Law Judge, Alleged Overpayment, CMS, Extrapolations, Federal Law, Health Care Providers and Services, HHS, Knicole Emanuel, Legal Remedies for Medicaid Providers, Medicaid, Medicaid Attorney, Medicaid Providers, Medicare, Medicare and Medicaid Provider Audits, Medicare Appeal Process, Medicare Attorney, Medicare Audits, Medicare RAC, Post-Payment Reviews, Provider Appeals of Adverse Decisions for Medicare and Medicaid, RAC, RAC Audits, UPICs

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Tags: Error Rate, Extrapolations, Knicole Emanuel, Medicaid, Medicaid Attorney; Medicaid Lawyer; Medicare Attorney Medicare Lawyer, Medicaid Extrapolation, Medicare, Medicare extrapolations, Nelson Mullins, Palmetto

NC Medicaid Reform … Part 5,439-ish

Dec 27

Posted by kemanuel

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas or Happy Hanukkah! As 2023 approaches, NC Medicaid is being overhauled…again! Medicaid reform is never smooth, despite the State. NC is no different. When NC Medicaid reformed in 2013, I brought a class action lawsuit against Computer Science Corporation, which created NCTracks, and DHHS, NC’s “single state entity” charged with managing Medicaid. See blog.

The new start date for NC Medicaid Tailored Plans is April 1, 2023. Tailored Plans, originally scheduled to launch Dec. 1, 2022, will provide the same services as Standard Plans in Medicaid Managed Care and will also provide additional specialized services for individuals with significant behavioral health conditions, Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities and traumatic brain injury.

While the start of Tailored Plans will be delayed, specific new services did go live Dec. 1, 2022.

The following organizations will serve as regional Behavioral Health I/DD Tailored Plans beginning April 1, 2023:

Alliance Healthalliancehealthplan.org
- Member phone numbers: 800-510-9132, TTY: 711 or 800-735-2962
Eastpointeeastpointe.net
- Member phone numbers: 800-913-6109, TTY: 888-819-5112
Partners Health Managementpartnersbhm.org
- Member phone numbers: 888-235-4673, TTY: English: 800-735-2962, TTY: Spanish: 888-825-6570
Sandhills Centersandhillscenter.org
- Member phone numbers: 800-256-2452, TTY: 711 or 866-518-6778
Trillium Health Resourcestrilliumhealthresources.org
- Member phone numbers: 877-685-2415, TTY: 711
Vaya Healthvayahealth.com
- Member phone numbers: 800-962-9003, TTY: 711

Aetna is a managed-care provider, one of eight entities who submitted proposals for Medicaid managed-care services. The Committee issued its recommendations on January 24, 2019, which identified four statewide contracts for Medicaid managed care services to be awarded. On February 4, 2019, DHHS awarded contracts to WellCare of North Carolina, Inc. (“Wellcare”), Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (“BCBS”), AmeriHealth Caritas of North Carolina (“AmeriHealth”), and UnitedHealthcare of North Carolina, Inc. (“United Healthcare”). DHHS also awarded a regional contract to Carolina Complete Health, Inc.

See below:

However, two private insurance failed to get awarded NC contracts.

Aetna, along with the two other entities who were not awarded contracts, protested DHHS’ contract by filing contested case petitions in the Office of Administrative Hearings (“OAH”). Aetna filed its contested case petition and motion for preliminary injunction on April 16, 2019. The Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) denied Aetna’s motion for preliminary injunction on June 26, 2019. The ALJ consolidated all three petitions on July 26, 2019. It rose to the Court of Appeals, where it was thrown out on a technicality; i.e., failure to timely serve Defendants. Aetna Better Health of N. Carolina, Inc. v. N. Carolina Dep’t of Health & Hum. Servs., 2021-NCCOA-486, ¶ 4, 279 N.C. App. 261, 263, 866 S.E.2d 265, 267.

The Court stated, “Here, Aetna failed to timely serve DHHS or any other party within the “10 days after the petition is filed” as is mandated by N.C. Gen. Stat. § 150B-46. Prior to serving DHHS, Aetna amended its Petition on 12 October 2020 and served its amended Petition the same day. Aetna argues “the relation-back provision of Rule 15(c) allows the service of an amended pleading where the original pleading was not properly served.” What a silly and mundane reason to have their Complaint dismissed due to the oversight of an attorney or paralegal…and a great law firm at that. Just goes to show you that technical, legal mistakes are easily done. This career in law in the Medicare/Medicaid realm is not simple.

The upcoming transformation in Medicaid will probably not be smooth; it never is. But we shall see if Medicaid reform 2023 works better than 2013 reform. We can hope!

Posted in Administrative Law Judge, Appeal Rights, Behavioral health, Knicole Emanuel, Managed Care, Medicaid, Medicaid Advocate, Medicaid Attorney, Medicaid Contracts, Medicaid Providers, Medicaid Reform, Medicaid Reimbursements, Medicaid Services, Medicare, Medicare Attorney, Office of Administrative Hearings, Petitions for Contested Cases, Provider Appeals of Adverse Decisions for Medicare and Medicaid

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Tags: Aetna, Alliance, Amerihealth, Carolina Complete Health, EastPOinte, Healthy Blue, Knicole Emanuel, Medicaid, Medicaid Attorney; Medicaid Lawyer; Medicare Attorney Medicare Lawyer, Medicare, NC DHHS, NCTracks, North Carolina, Partners, Sandhills, Trillium, UnitedHealth, Vaya, WellCare

Regulatory Fright: Audits Citing Harm, Abuse, Neglect, or Exploitation

Dec 13

Posted by kemanuel

There is little more daunting than the Division of Health Services Regulation (“DHSR”) – or whatever acronym is used in your State – slapping penalties on long term care facilities, nursing homes, and other residential facilities, such as residential homes housing handicapped recipients, mentally ill recipients, or substance abuse consumers. Many of these penalties are immediate and can easily put a facility out of business and a resident without a home. DHSR falls under the umbrella of DHHS, the “single State entity” that manages Medicaid in each respective State. DHSR may be a different acronym in your State, but the essence will be the same.

The primary difference between adult care homes and nursing homes is as follows:

“Adult Care Homes” provide care and assistance to people with problems carrying out activities of daily living and supervision to people with cognitive impairments whose decisions, if made independently, may jeopardize the safety or well-being of themselves or others and therefore require supervision. Medication in an adult care home may be administered by designated, trained staff. Smaller adult care homes that provide care to two to six unrelated residents are commonly called family care homes.

“Nursing Homes” are for people who need chronic or rehabilitative care, who, on admission are not acutely ill and who do not usually require special facilities such as an operating room, X-ray facilities, laboratory facilities, and obstetrical facilities. A “nursing home” provides care for people who have remedial ailments or other ailments, for which medical and nursing care are indicated; who, however, are not sick enough to require general hospital care. Nursing care is their primary need, but they will require continuing medical supervision.

Regarding Violations & Penalties in Adult Care Homes

Pursuant to G.S. 131-D-34 (a), the Department shall impose an administrative penalty in accordance with provisions of the Article on any facility which is found to be in violation of requirements of G.S. 131D-21 or applicable State and federal laws and regulations. Citations for violations shall be classified and penalties assessed according to the nature of the violation.

Type A1 and A2 Violations & Penalties: A monetary penalty fine may be imposed when a “Type A1” or “Type A2” violation has occurred.

“Type A1 Violation” means a violation by a facility of applicable laws and regulations governing a facility which results in death or serious physical harm, abuse, neglect, or exploitation of a resident.
“Type A2 Violation” means a violation by a facility of applicable laws and regulations governing the licensure of a facility which results in substantial risk that death or serious physical harm, abuse, neglect, or exploitation will occur.
For family care homes (licensed for two to six beds), the penalty amount may range from $500.00 to $10,000 for each Type A violation.
For adult care homes (licensed for seven beds or more), the penalty amount may range from $2000.00 to $20,000 for each Type A violation.

Examples of a Type A1 violation may include the following:

The facility failed to provide supervision to a confused resident who exhibited wandering and exit seeking behaviors resulting in the resident leaving the facility unsupervised and without the knowledge of the facility’s staff. The resident was hit by a car and sustained multiple injuries causing death.
The facility failed to administer an antibiotic medication for 7 days as ordered for a resident discharged from the hospital with diagnoses including pneumonia. The resident required a subsequent 11-day hospitalization for diagnoses including respiratory failure and an infection in the bloodstream.

Examples of a Type A2 violation may include the following:

The facility failed to send a resident to the hospital for evaluation after the resident drank approximately 24 ounces of hand sanitizer on one occasion; drank approximately 8 ounces of body wash and ate an unknown amount of solid deodorant on a second occasion; and failed to notify the resident’s primary care provider of the resident drinking non-consumable substances on more than one occasion which placed the resident at substantial risk of serious physical harm and neglect.
A resident was administered medications that belonged to another resident. The medications administered had the strong potential of adverse side effects. The resident required emergent evaluation and treatment in the emergency department of the local hospital which placed the resident at substantial risk of serious physical harm.

Unabated Violations and Penalties:

If a facility has failed to correct any violation within the specified date of correction (30 days for Type A violations; 45 days for Type B violations), these are “unabated violations.” Additional penalty fines may be imposed for unabated violations.

Unabated Type A1 and A2 Violations & Penalties:

When a facility has failed to correct a “Type A1” or “Type A2” violation within 30 days, a monetary penalty fine may be imposed in the amount of up to $1,000 for each day that the Type A1 or Type A2 violation continued to occur beyond the date specified for correction.

The Department has legal authority to impose a monetary fine for:

The inspection in which the Type A1 or Type A2 violation was first identified and
Additional monetary penalty fines as a result of each inspection in which the unabated Type A1 violation or unabated Type A2 violation continued to occur beyond the specified date of correction

Unabated Type B Violations & Penalties:

Another unabated violation that could result in the imposition of penalty fines is a “Type B” violation that has not been corrected by the facility within the specified correction date (45 days per regulatory authority), known as an Unabated B violation.

A “Type B” violation means a violation by a facility of applicable laws and regulations governing a facility which is detrimental to the health, safety, or welfare of any resident, but which does not result in substantial risk that death or serious physical harm, abuse, neglect, or exploitation will occur.
The range of the fine for an Unabated “Type B” violation that was not corrected is up to $400.00 for each day that the violation continues beyond the date specified for correction.
Additional penalty fines may be imposed as a result of each inspection in which the unabated Type B violation continued to occur beyond the specified date of correction.

Examples of Unabated Type B violations may include the following:

Several residents have orders to receive pain medications every evening but on one evening, staff forget to give the residents the ordered pain medications. One resident suffers from shoulder pain and could not sleep from the missed dose. Subsequent doses are given as ordered. The facility is cited a Type B violation for the non-compliance and on a follow-up visit, additional medication errors are noted; therefore, the facility is fined up to $400/day until compliance with medication administration is determined, which must be verified by another follow-up inspection.
The facility’s pest management program is not effective, and roaches are noted in a couple of the residents’ rooms on one out of two halls in the facility. The facility is cited a Type B violation for the non-compliance and on a follow-up visit, additional roaches and insects are noted; therefore, the facility is fined up to $400/day until compliance with pest management is determined, which must be verified by another follow-up inspection.

The Department will determine whether each violation has been corrected.

Pursuant to Chapter 150B and N.C. Gen. Stat. § 131D-34(e), adult care homes have the legal right to appeal the imposition of a penalty fine by filing a petition for contested case within 30 days after the Department mails a notice of the penalty imposition decision to a Licensee.

Once a penalty has been imposed, payment is due within 60 days unless an appeal is timely filed at the at the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH).

If a penalty is appealed, it will go to a hearing at the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH). Alternatively, the Department and the Licensee may agree to resolve the penalty by executing a settlement agreement.

I emphasize, if you disagree with the sanction and/or the accusation, APPEAL. I have been successful in eliminating severe penalties that a residential home, nursing home, or adult care homes by arguing at the OAH. Just remember, DHSR can accuse anything of happening to constitute “abuse or neglect” of a consumer. But DHSR must prove it to a Judge!

Posted in Administrative code, Adult Care Homes, Adult Care Homes that Accept Medicaid, Health Care Providers and Services, Knicole Emanuel, Legal Remedies for Medicaid Providers, Long Term Care Facilities, Medicaid, Medicaid Attorney, Medicaid Providers, Medicare, Medicare and Medicaid Provider Audits, Medicare Attorney, NC DHHS, North Carolina, Nursing Homes, Office of Administrative Hearings, Regulatory Audits

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Tags: adult care homes, DHSR, Division of Health Service Regulation, Division of Medical Assistance, Knicole Emanuel, Medicaid, Medicaid Attorney; Medicaid Lawyer; Medicare Attorney Medicare Lawyer, Medicare, North Carolina, Nursing Homes, Residential Services, Type A1

Medicare Appeal Backlog Dissolves and SMRC Audits Escalate

Apr 12

Posted by kemanuel

I have good news and bad news today. I have chosen to begin with the good news. The ALJ backlog will soon be no more. Yes, the 4-6 years waiting period between the second and third level will, by sometime in 2021, be back to 90 days, with is the statutory requirement. What precipitated this drastic improvement? Money. This past year, CMS’ budget increased exponentially, mostly due to the Medicare appeals backlog. OMHA was given enough dough to hire 70 additional ALJs and to open six additional locations. That brings the number of ALJs ruling over provider Medicare appeals to over 100. OMHA now has the capability to hear and render decisions for approximately 300,000 appeals per year. This number is drastically higher than the number of Medicare appeals being filed. The backlog will soon be nonexistent. This is fantastic for all providers because, while CMS will continue to recoup the alleged overpayment after the 2^nd level, the providers will be able to have its case adjudicated by an ALJ much speedier.

Now the bad news. Remember when the RAC program was first implemented and the RACs were zealously auditing, which is the reason that the backlog exists in the first place. RACs were given free rein to audit whichever types of service providers they chose to target. Once the backlog was out of hand, CMS restricted the RACs. They only allowed a 3 year lookback period when other auditors can go back 6 years, like the SMRC audits. CMS also mandated that the RACs slow down their number of audits and put other restrictions on RACs. Now that OMHA has the capacity to adjudicate 300,000 Medicare appeals per year, expect that those reins that have been holding the RACs back will by 2021 or 2022 be fully loosened for a full gallop.

Switching gears: Two of the lesser known audits that are exclusive to the CMS are the Supplemental Medical Review Contractor (“SMRC”) and the Targeted Probe and Educate (“TPE”) audits. Exclusivity to CMS just means that Medicare claims are reviewed, not Medicaid.

The SMRCs, in particular, create confusion. We have seen DME SMRC audits on ventilator claims, which are extremely document intensive. You can imagine the high amounts of money at issue because, for ventilators, many people require them for long periods of time. Sometimes there can 3000 claim lines for a ventilator claim. These SMRC audits are not extrapolated, but the amount in controversy is still high. SMRCs normally request the documents for 20-40 claims. It is a one-time review. It’s a post payment review audit. It doesn’t sound that bad until you receive the request for documents of 20-40 claims, all of which contain 3000 claim lines and you have 45 days to comply.

Lastly, in a rare act, CMS has inquired as whether provider prefer TPE audits or continue with post payment review audits for the remainder of the pandemic. If you have a strong opinion one way or the other, be sure to contact CMS.

Posted in Administrative Law Judge, Alleged Overpayment, Appeal Rights, CMS, CMS Proposal, Coronavirus, Durable Medical Equipment, Federal Government, Federal Law, Health Care Providers and Services, Knicole Emanuel, Legal Analysis, Legal Remedies for Medicaid Providers, Medicaid, Medicaid Attorney, Medicare, Medicare Attorney, Medicare Audits, Medicare RAC, Office of Administrative Hearings, Petitions for Contested Cases, Post-Payment Reviews, Program Integrity, RAC, RAC Audits

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Tags: ALJ Backlog, Backlog at OMHA, CMS Proposal, Medicare, Medicare Appeals Backlog, Medicare TPE Audits, RAC Audits, Supplemental Medical Review Contractors, Targeted Probe and Educate audits

Medicaid Suspension Lifted Because No Evidence of Intent!

Jan 11

Posted by kemanuel

Happy 2021! I bring great news and good tidings. I’m fairly sure that everyone reading is educated in what a preliminary injunction is and how important it can be for a health care provider falsely accused of credible allegations of fraud to lift the mandatory suspension of reimbursements. Finally, over the holidays, a Judge found that an indication of intent is required for an accusation of credible allegations of fraud, unlike past cases in which a mere accusation results in suspensions. 42 CFR §455.23 mandates that a health care provider’s reimbursements be suspended based on “credible allegations of fraud.” Which is a low bar. My client, an oral surgeon, had a disgruntled employee complaint and a baseless PCG audit of $6k. A double threat.

For those who are not in the know: An injunction is an extraordinary legal tool that allows the judge to suspend whatever bad action the government or one of its auditors do.

You have to prove:

Likelihood of success on the merits
Irreparable harm
Balance of equities
Public Interest.

I would guestimate that only 10-20% of requests for TROs and PIs are granted. Last week, we won for the oral surgeon. Everyone can learn from his success. This is how we won. Let me set the stage. We have an oral surgeon who underwent an infamous PCG audit resulting in an alleged $6k overpayment. PCG concurrently sends his data to program integrity, and one month later and without any notice, his reimbursements are suspended based on a “credible allegation of fraud.” Concurrently, he had a disgruntled employee threatening him.

Remember that the bar to demonstrate “credible allegation of fraud” is amazingly low. It is an “indicia of reliability.” An inaccurate PCG audit and a disgruntled employee, in this case, were the catalyst for the oral surgeon’s Medicaid reimbursements. His practice comprised of 80% Medicaid, so the suspension would cause irreparable harm to the practice.

We filed a TRO, PI, and Motion to Stay. The day before Christmas, we had trial.

The Judge ruled that the Department cannot just blindly rely on an anonymous accusation. There has to be some sort of investigation. It is not OK to accept accusations at face value without any sort of independent fact-checking. The Judge created an additional burden for the Department in cases of accusations of fraud that is not present in the regulation. But it is logical and reasonable to expect the Department to explore the accusations. The Judge emphasized that fraud requires intent. He also pointed out that fraud is not defined in the regulations. He emphasized that billing errors are not intentional acts.

The Judge held that, “[i]n light of the large number of Medicaid beneficiaries treated by the Petitioner’s practice, the rarity of the physician’s skills, and the apparent demand for those services, the relatively small amount of money now or formally in controversy, the lack of evidence of actual fraud and the contrary indications, the high probability that good cause exists for not suspending Petitioner’s Medicaid payments, and the near certainty of irreparable harm to the Petitioner if the relief is not granted, a TRO should be granted.”

Even better, the Judge ordered that the surgeon did not have to put up a bond, which is normally required by law. By the stroke of the Judge’s pen, the surgeon could go back to work performing medically necessary services to Medicaid recipients, which, by the way is rare for an oral surgeon to accept Medicaid. This is a success for health care providers. Accusations of fraud should require independent corroboration and evidence of intent.

Posted in Credible Allegations of Fraud, Dental Medicaid Providers, DMA Clinical Policy 4A, Federal Law, Fraud, Health Care Providers and Services, Injunctions, Knicole Emanuel, Legal Analysis, Legal Remedies for Medicaid Providers, Medicaid, Medicaid Appeals, Medicaid Attorney, Medicaid Fraud, Medicaid Providers, Medicaid Services, Medicare and Medicaid Provider Audits, North Carolina, Petitions for Contested Cases, Preliminary Injunctions, Termination of Medicaid Contract, TRO

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Tags: 42 CFR 455.23, Credible Allegations of Fraud, Knicole Emanuel, Medicaid, Medicaid Suspension, Medicare Lawyer; Medicare Attorney, PCG, PCG Audit, Practus, Preliminary Injunction

Coronavirus: The Latest Court Closings

Apr 3

Posted by kemanuel

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Article courtesy of Law360. Updated April 1, 2020.

Notice the article does not expound on the closings or openings of administrative law courts across America. If you are defending a Medicare or Medicaid overpayment, tentative notice of overpayment, or other alleged penalties, you will, most likely, be in administrative court.

At least, here, in NC, the administrative courts are open for Motions. Physically, the courts are closed except for a clerk. No in-person hearings are being held. But emergency, telephonic hearings can be heard.

FEDERAL APPEALS COURTS

U.S. Supreme Court
The high court postponed oral arguments scheduled for this month’s session running March 23 to March 25 and March 30 to April 1. The court’s regularly scheduled order list will be posted on the court’s website at 9:30 a.m. March 23. Hard copies will not be released. Opinions will be issued by the court at 10 a.m. the same day.

The court closed to tourists on March 12 until further notice, but the building will remain open for official business.

The deadline to file any petition for a writ of certiorari due on or after March 19 is extended to 150 days from the date of the lower court judgment, order denying discretionary review or order denying a timely petition for rehearing. The court said it will generally grant motions for time extensions if parties have difficulties related to the coronavirus.

Federal Circuit Court of Appeals
All cases scheduled for argument during the April 2020 sitting will be conducted remotely and no in-person hearings will be held. All existing deadlines in cases are still in effect. All requirements to provide paper copies of documents submitted electronically are suspended for all documents filed on or after March 2 until further notice. Pro se parties are permitted to submit case-initiating documents by fax or email.

The public is prohibited from entering the National Courts Building complex unless preauthorized by court staff and only as necessary to conduct or support essential court functions, effective March 16. Those who have tested positive for the coronavirus or had possible exposure to the virus are prohibited from entering the courthouse.

D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals
The court of appeals for the D.C. Circuit has suspended all in-person onsite oral arguments until further notice.

The Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit is limiting access to its courthouse to “judges, court staff, members of the media, and visitors with official business with the courts,” effective Friday. The court asked that those who have tested positive for the coronavirus, have had contact with someone who has been exposed to the virus, been asked to self-quarantine or are experiencing flu-like symptoms not enter the courthouse. Pro se litigants may email filings to ProSeFilings@cadc.uscourts.gov as PDF files and should not send duplicate paper copies to the court.

First Circuit Court of Appeals
Oral arguments scheduled for the month of April are canceled.

Second Circuit Court of Appeals
All filing dates and other deadlines between March 16 and May 17 are extended by 21 days.

Those who do not have business with the court will not be admitted until further notice. Arguments may be conducted remotely.

Lawyers or pro se parties scheduled to argue before the court should contact the clerk of court if they: visited or have been in contact with someone who was in China, Iran, Italy, Japan or South Korea in the past two weeks, have been asked to self-quarantine, have tested positive for the coronavirus or have been in contact with someone who has tested positive, or if they have a verifiable health condition.

Third Circuit Court of Appeals
Oral arguments will continue as scheduled pending further order of the court. The merits panel will determine the manner of argument. Parties may file a motion requesting to appear by audio conference. The majority of staff in the clerk’s office will be working remotely. The three-day time limit for requesting extensions is relaxed until the clerk’s office resumes normal operations. The filing of paper copies of briefs and appendices is deferred until further notice.

The Third Circuit Judicial Conference scheduled for May 13-15 in Philadelphia has been canceled.

Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals
Cases previously scheduled for argument during the March 17-20 and April 7 argument sessions will be heard at a later session, heard remotely or submitted on the briefs, at the direction of the assigned panels. The court temporarily suspended its oral argument requirement for published opinions.

The Powell Courthouse in Richmond, Virginia, is closed to the public. Papers may be filed in the courthouse lobby, but those who have tested positive for the coronavirus, those with symptoms of COVID-19 and those who may have been exposed to the virus are prohibited from entering the building.

Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
All requirements to file paper copies are suspended until further notice. Extensions with justification may be requested from the clerk’s office. All outstanding deadlines for incarcerated and nonincarcerated pro se filers are extended for 30 days after their due dates. The court canceled in-person oral arguments scheduled for March 30 to April 2 in New Orleans.

Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals
All nonessential court functions are postponed until further notice. Judges, parties, attorneys and some court staff are allowed to appear via video conference. The requirement that nonprisoner pro se litigants file exclusively in paper format is temporarily suspended until April 17.

Those who have tested positive for the coronavirus or come into contact with someone who has tested positive are barred from entering any courtroom. That restriction also applies to those who have been asked to self-quarantine, are exhibiting cold or flu symptoms, have visited Italy, Iran, China or South Korea in the past two weeks, or have had close contact with someone who has visited those countries in the past two weeks.

Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals
All cases scheduled for oral argument from March 30 through the end of April will be argued via telephone. The courtroom in Chicago will be closed to the public, and the court is operating with reduced staff. Arguments will be recorded and posted on the court’s website. If all parties agree among themselves to waive oral argument, they may jointly file a motion with the court seeking permission to do so.

Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals
The public is not being admitted to the Eighth Circuit Clerk’s Office. Those who come to the Burger Courthouse in St. Paul, Minnesota, or the Eagleton Courthouse in St. Louis to file may leave their documents at the front door to the office.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
Ninth Circuit courthouses are closed to the public during noncourt weeks until further notice. The court is evaluating arguments currently scheduled for March, April and May and will give orders to the cases individually. Panels may exercise their discretion to submit cases without argument, postpone argument to a later date or hold argument via telephone or video. Arguments will be livestreamed for the public.

Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals
The Tenth Circuit closed its sole courthouse to the public from March 17 until further notice. The Denver courthouse will be restricted to judges, court staff, court security officers and service providers with official business with the court. All filings should be made electronically or via mail until further notice.

Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals
In the Eleventh Circuit, only judges, court staff, members of the media and visitors with official business with the court will be allowed into the two Eleventh Circuit buildings. Paper filing requirements are temporarily waived. Panels can hear oral arguments remotely, and those hearings will be livestreamed for the public when feasible. Recordings of oral arguments will also be available on the court’s website. Anyone who is experiencing flu-like symptoms or who has had a known contact with a person who tested positive for the coronavirus will not be allowed inside.

The court has canceled its judicial conference, which had been scheduled for May 6 through May 9 in Atlanta.

FEDERAL DISTRICT COURTS AND STATE COURTS

Alabama
The Northern District of Alabama is prohibiting those who have tested positive for the coronavirus and those who may have been exposed to the virus from entering its courthouses. Also prohibited are those who have visited China, Italy, Japan, Iran or South Korea in the past two weeks.

In the Middle District of Alabama, no jurors will be summoned for civil or criminal jury trials for 30 days as of March 17. All jury trials and trial-specific deadlines scheduled during that period are postponed for 30 days, as are all grand jury proceedings. Initial appearances, arraignments and detention hearings before the magistrate judges will continue remotely. Any proceedings that can’t be conducted remotely will be coordinated with the duty magistrate judge. Case-by-case exceptions to the procedures may be ordered for nonjury matters at the discretion of the court after consultation with counsel.

All the Middle District’s bankruptcy court, hearings will be held by telephone through May 31

The Middle District is prohibiting those who have tested positive for the coronavirus and those who may have been exposed to the virus from entering its courthouses. Also prohibited are those who have visited China, Italy, Japan, Iran or South Korea in the past two weeks.

The Southern District of Alabama is prohibiting those who have tested positive for the coronavirus and those who may have been exposed to the virus from entering its courthouses. Also prohibited are those who have visited Europe, China, Italy, Iran or South Korea in the past two weeks.

In the state court system, all in-person court proceedings are suspended through April 16, with exceptions for jury trials in progress as of March 13 and other essential and emergency matters. Any court deadlines set to expire before April 16 are extended to April 20, excluding statutes of limitation.

Alaska
In the District of Alaska, all civil and criminal jury trials set to begin on or before May 1 are postponed until further notice. Trial-specific deadlines in civil and criminal cases set to begin before May 1 are postponed until further notice. All noncase-related activities scheduled in the James M. Fitzgerald U.S. Courthouse in Anchorage and the U.S. Courthouses in Fairbanks and Juneau are canceled until further notice. All grand jury proceedings scheduled to be held from Feb. 18 through May 1 are postponed. No hearings in bankruptcy appeals pending before the court scheduled from March 23 through May 1 will go forward, except for emergency time-sensitive matters.

In Alaska’s state court system, all Superior Court and District Court proceedings are suspended through April 3 except for certain priority hearings, including arraignments, felony first appearances and bail hearings. All trial court proceedings are suspended through May 1 except for certain priority hearings. Criminal jury trials are suspended through May 1, but trials underway as of March 23 may continue. Filing deadlines are extended to May 1 in suspended cases. The court is encouraging those with COVID-19 symptoms or possible exposure to the virus not to come to any state courthouses.

Arizona
The District of Arizona has postponed all civil and criminal jury trials scheduled to begin on or before May 4 until further notice. All trial-specific deadlines in criminal cases scheduled to begin before May 4 are postponed until further notice, and judges may postpone deadlines for civil cases at their discretion. All grand juries that were scheduled to convene on or before April 17 are suspended. For those charged with felonies during this time, the period of time for presenting the case to the grand jury is extended 30 days from the indictment deadline. All court proceedings in the Tucson division through March 29 are postponed. Judges will conduct proceedings remotely where feasible. Noncase-related activities at courthouses in Phoenix, Tucson and Yuma, including naturalization ceremonies, are canceled until further notice.

The Flagstaff Courthouse will be closed to the public, except for necessary court appearances, through at least April 10. The public admitted to the courtroom will be limited to no more than two people in the public seating area at any time.

The court is asking those who recently traveled from an area with widespread COVID-19 — and those who are exhibiting symptoms of the disease — not to visit its courthouse.

In the state court system, no new petit juries will be empaneled through April 17.

Arkansas
In the Eastern District of Arkansas, all civil jury trials scheduled between March 18 and April 20 are canceled. All criminal jury trials scheduled to take place between March 23 and April 30 are postponed until further notice. All grand jury proceedings scheduled between March 18 and April 30 are postponed until further notice. Attorneys and parties must provide notice of potential exposure to the coronavirus. The court will use videoconferencing in preliminary criminal proceedings as needed. All large scale public events scheduled for March and April are postponed.

In the Western District of Arkansas, all civil and criminal bench and jury trials are postponed and will be rescheduled to a date after May 1. Other civil and criminal matters that can be resolved without oral argument or handled remotely are unaffected. Those who have tested positive for the coronavirus or may have been exposed to it are prohibited from entering any courthouse.

In the state court system, in-person proceedings in the appellate, Circuit and District courts are suspended until April 17. Exceptions include certain emergency, time-sensitive and other necessary proceedings. All summonses for people to participate in jury panels are suspended until May 1.

California
In the Southern District of California, civil and criminal jury trials are postponed until April 16. For the district’s bankruptcy court, all hearings will be conducted by telephone through April 16.

In the Eastern District of California, all civil and criminal jury trials are postponed until May 1. All courthouses are closed to the public. All civil matters will be decided on the papers or by remote hearings, if necessary. All criminal initial appearances, arraignments and other essential proceedings will proceed before magistrate judges unless the parties agree to postpone them. Proceedings should be conducted remotely when possible. District judges may postpone criminal matters to a date after May 1.

In the Central District of California, all courthouses are closed to the public through May 1, except for certain criminal hearings. Courthouse tours are canceled. No civil hearings will go forward, except for emergency time-sensitive matters. Any hearings on emergency civil matters will only proceed by telephone. All matters before the bankruptcy court will proceed by telephone.

In the Northern District of California, all civil and criminal jury trials are postponed until May 1. Anyone with symptoms should not appear in court. As of March 24, the San Jose courthouse was closed to both staff and the public until at least April 7 after a visitor was treated for COVID-19. All other district courthouses are closed to the general public until at least April 7. Essential courthouse operations for the Oakland, San Jose and Eureka/McKinleyville courthouses will be consolidated and relocated to the San Francisco courthouse until April 7.

The Central District and Eastern District of California are prohibiting anyone who visited China, South Korea, Japan, Italy or Iran in the past two weeks from entering any of their courthouses. The restriction also applies to those who have had close contact with someone who has visited those countries in the past two weeks, those who have tested positive for the coronavirus or have been in contact with someone who has tested positive, those who have been asked to self-quarantine and those experiencing fever, cough or shortness of breath.

The California Supreme Court suspended in-person oral argument sessions until further notice. Counsel will only appear remotely. All oral argument sessions will be held in the court’s San Francisco headquarters courtroom with limited seating. More information on California state court restrictions is available here.

Colorado
In the District of Colorado, all civil and criminal trials set to start from March 27 through May 1 are postponed. All grand jury proceedings are suspended through May 1. Hearings will be held remotely when possible. Only those with official court business are allowed to enter the district’s courthouses and probation offices. Those who have tested positive for the coronavirus or may have been exposed to it are prohibited from entering any courthouse.

In the state court system, all jury calls are suspended through April 3 except those for criminal trials facing imminent speedy trial deadlines.

Connecticut
The District of Connecticut said Wednesday that all civil and criminal jury trials and jury selections scheduled to start before April 10 are postponed until further notice. The courthouses will remain open for all other business. The clerk’s office is closed to the public until further notice, and all manual court filings can be made at a designated box in the entrance lobby of each courthouse.

The court is also prohibiting visitors who have been to China, South Korea, Japan, Italy, Iran, or any locale that is quarantined in the past two weeks. The court specified that those who have visited New Rochelle, New York — other than in a car or train — are also prohibited from visiting courthouses and probation offices.

All scheduled hearings and conferences in the district’s bankruptcy court will be conducted by telephone, unless the matter is withdrawn, resolved, postponed or the court determines the proceeding is not necessary.

In the state court system, all civil and criminal jury trials are suspended. The courts will only schedule and hear certain high-priority matters. The Connecticut Supreme Court postponed oral arguments in cases scheduled to have been heard between March 24 and April 2. The Supreme Court and Appellate Court have suspended the time requirements for all filings until further notice and have requested that no paper briefs be filed until further notice. On March 13, the court ruled that no appellate preargument conferences will be held for the next 30 days.

Delaware
In the District of Delaware, the J. Caleb Boggs U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building in Wilmington is closed until further notice. All civil and criminal jury selections and trials scheduled to begin before April 30 are postponed until further notice. Sitting grand juries are authorized to continue to meet, but no new grand juries will be empaneled before April 30. All changes of plea, sentencings and supervised release violation hearings scheduled before April 30 are postponed unless otherwise ordered by the presiding judge.

Attorneys are asked to inform the appropriate court if they have appeared in court and have since developed symptoms or tested positive for the coronavirus and to inform the courts about any scheduled proceedings that will require the attendance of a person who has tested positive for coronavirus or has been in contact in the past 14 days with a person who has tested positive for coronavirus.

Also, the courts will conduct conferences and hearings by phone when possible and will consider any request to change a scheduled in-person proceeding to a telephone proceeding.

The Delaware Bankruptcy Court has halted all nontime-sensitive proceedings until at least April 15. Unless otherwise ordered by the presiding judge, all court hearings held prior to April 15 will be held via telephone or video conference.

In the Delaware Chancery Court, all hearings and trials will be conducted remotely for 30 days beginning March 16.

The Delaware Supreme Court canceled all in-person oral arguments through May.

All state trial courts will have the discretion to postpone for 30 days both civil and criminal trials and hearings. Proceedings will be conducted by telephone when possible and the court will consider all requests for in-person hearings to be conducted by phone. Attorneys and self-represented parties scheduled for trial must notify the court if the trial will require the attendance of a person who has tested positive for coronavirus or has been in contact in the past 14 days with a person who has tested positive for coronavirus.

Florida
In the Florida Southern District Court, all jury trials scheduled to begin March 16 through March 30 are postponed until further notice. All trial-specific deadlines in criminal cases scheduled to begin before March 30 are also postponed until further notice. All grand jury sessions are postponed until April 27.

Court security officers are screening people who enter the federal courthouse and denying entry to anyone who has recently visited Italy, Iran, South Korea or China. Anyone who resides with or has had recent close contact with someone who has traveled to one of those countries, has been asked to self-quarantine, has tested positive for the coronavirus or had contact with someone tested positive also will not be able to enter any of the federal courthouses in the district.

In the Middle District of Florida, those with symptoms of COVID-19 and those who may have been exposed to the coronavirus are prohibited from entering any courthouse. All jury trials in the Orlando Division scheduled to begin before June 30 are postponed, as are all trial-specific deadlines in criminal cases scheduled to begin before June 30.

In the Northern District of Florida, jury trials and grand jury proceedings have been canceled for the month of March, and naturalization ceremonies have been canceled for the months of March and April. Proceedings will be held remotely when possible.

In the state court system, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that all grand jury proceedings, jury selection proceedings, and criminal and civil jury trials are suspended through April 17. Proceedings that already began may continue if the presiding judge and chief judge determine it is required “by the interests of justice.” All time periods involving the speedy trial procedure in criminal and juvenile court proceedings are suspended through April 20. Time periods for those charged with first-degree murder are suspended through April 17. The chief judges of each state Circuit Court were ordered to cancel or postpone nonessential court proceedings, unless the proceedings can be conducted remotely.

Georgia
The Northern District of Georgia said Wednesday it is denying entry to anyone who has visited China, South Korea, Japan, Italy or Iran in the past two weeks. The restriction also applies to those who have had close contact with someone who has visited those countries in the past 14 days, has tested positive for the coronavirus, been in contact with someone who has tested positive or been asked to self-quarantine by any hospital or health agency. Those denied entry may appear by teleconference with approval of the presiding judge.

In the Middle District of Georgia, no jury trials will be held for 60 days. Grand juries are not affected by the moratorium. All criminal hearings are canceled through May 16 except for certain proceedings, including initial appearances, arraignments and detention hearings. Those who have tested positive for the coronavirus or may have been exposed to the virus are prohibited from entering any courthouse.

In the Southern District of Georgia, only those with official court business will be admitted into the courthouse. Those who have symptoms of COVID-19, have tested positive for the coronavirus or may have been exposed to the virus are prohibited from entering the building. Any jury trials between March 17 and April 17 may be postponed. Grand juries will continue to meet. Criminal matters before magistrate judges will continue to take place as usual.

In the Georgia Supreme Court, filing deadlines are suspended through April 13. After that, attorneys will have the same amount of time to file their documents that they had when the court order went into effect on March 14. The court encourages attorneys to file briefs and other documents where practical, since the court is still working on cases.

The Georgia Supreme Court asked all attorneys, parties and other visitors to stay away from the court if they have a fever or symptoms of respiratory illness or if they have been exposed to anyone tested positive for the coronavirus or has the flu.

Guam
In the District of Guam, all jury selections and trials set to begin before April 26 are postponed until further notice. Criminal matters before the magistrate judge will proceed as usual. All grand jury proceedings are postponed to April 26, but the U.S. attorney may schedule proceedings for emergency or essential matters. All sentencing and revocation hearings scheduled to be heard on or before April 3, and any related deadlines, are postponed until further notice.

The court and the U.S. District Pretrial and Probation Office are closed to the public from March 20 through April 3. All naturalization ceremonies and noncourt-related events scheduled for March and April are canceled. Those who have tested positive for the coronavirus, have symptoms or may have been exposed to the virus are prohibited from entering the district court.

Hawaii
In the District of Hawaii, all civil and criminal trials scheduled to start between March 17 and May 3 are postponed. All civil hearings, including settlement conferences, scheduled for that time period will either be conducted remotely or taken off the court’s calendar. Nonessential criminal matters will be postponed to a date after May 3, but the court will continue to conduct initial appearances, arraignments, detention hearings and other time-sensitive matters. The court is generally closed to the public, but there is limited seating for in-person hearings, available by request.

The court is prohibiting those who have visited China, Iran, Italy, Japan and South Korea within the past two weeks from entering the courthouse, as well as those who have had contact with someone who has been in those countries, tested positive for the coronavirus, been in contact with someone who has been exposed to the virus or have been asked to self-quarantine.

In the state court system, all ongoing trials will be postponed to a date after April 30, as will civil trials and hearings. Criminal trials, grand jury proceedings and hearings will be postponed to a date after April 30 to the extent possible. In the courts of appeal, all oral arguments scheduled before April 30 will be rescheduled or the matter resolved without oral argument. Those who have symptoms or may have been exposed to the coronavirus are prohibited from entering judiciary facilities.

In the state court system, all in-person appearances for civil and criminal dockets are excused, except for emergency matters, child protection hearings, domestic violence hearings and evidentiary hearings in criminal cases. The state Supreme Court ordered that all civil trials, hearings and motions should be postponed and rescheduled for a later date unless the assigned judge finds the proceedings can be held remotely. Any civil trial or hearing currently in progress shall be postponed or completed at the discretion of the presiding judge.

Idaho
In the District of Idaho, all jury trials scheduled to begin on or before May 11 are postponed until further notice. All grand jury proceedings set to begin before May 11 are suspended. No in-person bankruptcy or civil proceedings will take place until further notice. Various criminal hearings before district judges will be postponed until after May 11, and all preliminary felony and post-conviction proceedings conducted by a magistrate judge will be conducted remotely.

The federal courthouse in Pocatello was closed until April 6 after a person working in the building tested positive for the coronavirus. All in-person evidentiary hearings in civil, criminal and bankruptcy cases scheduled before any judge in the Pocatello courthouse are postponed.

Those with symptoms of COVID-19 and those who may have been exposed to the virus are prohibited from coming to court.

In the state court system, all in-person appearances for civil and criminal dockets are excused, except for emergency matters, child protection hearings, domestic violence hearings and evidentiary hearings in criminal cases. The state Supreme Court ordered that all civil trials, hearings and motions be postponed and rescheduled for a later date unless the assigned judge finds the proceedings can be held remotely. Any civil trial or hearing currently in progress shall be postponed or completed at the discretion of the presiding judge. All criminal jury trials scheduled to be heard from March 26 through April 30 are postponed for at least 30 days.

Illinois
In the Northern District of Illinois, all civil case deadlines are extended by 21 days. Civil case hearings, trials and settlement conferences scheduled from March 17 through April 3 are canceled and will be rescheduled by the presiding judge on or after April 6. All criminal case proceedings in any division that can’t be postponed will be conducted in the Eastern Division by district judges serving in emergency capacity.

The court is still accessible for electronic filing and phone and video conferencing in emergency situations.

The court said on March 12 that all civil jury trials and jury selections scheduled to start before April 3 are postponed until further notice. Second chance reentry court proceedings, veterans treatment court proceedings and non-telephone settlement conferences scheduled before April 3 are also postponed. The courthouses will remain open for all other business, including criminal case proceedings, and grand juries will continue to meet.

The court suspended all mass public gatherings outside of court proceedings at the federal courthouses in Chicago and Rockford, Illinois, and limited deliveries to the court. Judges are encouraged to conduct proceedings by phone or video conference where practicable.

In the Central District of Illinois, all civil and criminal jury trials scheduled to begin before May 18 are postponed and will be rescheduled by the presiding judge. All petty offense proceedings are postponed and will be rescheduled by the presiding judge. All civil hearings, including settlement conferences, should be conducted by telephone or video conference. Criminal sentencing hearings and hearings on the revocation of supervised release are postponed until after May 18. Those who have symptoms or may have been exposed to the virus should contact the court before appearing.

In the Southern District of Illinois, all in-person civil matters are postponed until further notice. All civil case deadlines are extended by 30 days. Grand jury proceedings are unaffected. Only essential in-person criminal matters will occur. Any emergency hearing required before April 7 in a criminal case will be held remotely. Those who have tested positive for the coronavirus or may have been exposed to the virus are prohibited from visiting the courthouse. All scheduled bankruptcy hearings will be held by telephone.

For the Cook County Circuit Court, all matters are postponed for 30 days from their originally scheduled date, but some proceedings will continue, including certain criminal matters, juvenile detention hearings, temporary custody hearings and mental health hearings, among others. Discovery in civil matters will continue, and emergency civil hearings may be conducted in-person or remotely.

Indiana
In the Southern District of Indiana, all jury trials are postponed through May 1. All other civil court proceedings will continue, although they may be done remotely at the judge’s discretion. Naturalization ceremonies through May 1 are canceled. Those with symptoms and those who may have been exposed to the coronavirus are prohibited from visiting courthouses.

The Indianapolis Division, Terre Haute Division and New Albany Division are closed to the public as of March 18.

In the Northern District of Indiana, the Fort Wayne, Hammond, Lafayette and South Bend divisions, as well as the district’s bankruptcy court and probation office, are closed to the public. The court will conduct necessary proceedings remotely as ordered by the presiding judge in each case. Necessary criminal proceedings will continue to be held before magistrate judges unless the parties agree to postpone them. Those proceedings will be conducted remotely as much as possible.

The Indiana Supreme Court has tolled all deadlines for appellate filings through April 6. Various matters in the Circuit, Superior and Municipal courts have been tolled, including all laws and procedures setting time limits for speedy trials in criminal and juvenile proceedings; public health, mental health and appellate matters; judgments and other orders; and statutes of limitation. Those restrictions apply to the Indiana Tax Court as well.

Iowa
In the Northern District of Iowa, those who have tested positive for the coronavirus are prohibited from entering the courthouse, as are those who have been asked to self-quarantine, those experiencing symptoms and those who may have been exposed to the virus.

In the Southern District of Iowa, all civil and criminal jury trials set from March 16 to May 4 are postponed until further notice. Any further grand jury proceedings for the month of March are canceled.

In the state court system, any criminal trial that is not in progress is postponed and will be rescheduled for after April 20. All civil jury trials that haven’t started as of March 13 but were scheduled to begin before May 4 are postponed. All civil bench trials and other hearings set to start before May 4 are postponed until May 4 at the earliest or should be conducted by telephone, at the discretion of the judge. As of March 17, statutes of limitation for filing an action in district court are extended by 48 days.

The Iowa Supreme Court ordered that attorneys and parties notify their opposing counsel and appropriate clerk of court’s office if they suspect a participant in any proceeding has an elevated risk of transmitting the novel coronavirus. No one who has an elevated risk can attend any state court proceeding in person without court authorization. Attorneys must also ask their clients and witnesses whether they have an elevated risk of transmission, the order said.

Potential state court jurors must notify the jury manager if they have an elevated risk of transmitting coronavirus, and the jury manager must reschedule them to a new service term. The court said it will also promptly consider requests from parties to change in-person proceedings to remote proceedings.

Kansas
In the District of Kansas, all criminal cases and matters scheduled for nonemergency hearings are postponed until further notice. Grand jury proceedings are postponed for at least 30 days. Those who have tested positive for the coronavirus, have symptoms or were potentially exposed to the virus are prohibited from coming to court.

In the state court system, all civil and criminal jury trials scheduled to begin on or after March 18 are postponed until further notice. Trials in progress as of March 18 may continue to conclusion at the discretion of the presiding judge. All district and appellate courts will be restricted to emergency operations until further notice.

Kentucky
In the Eastern District of Kentucky, civil and criminal trials scheduled to begin on or before May 1 are postponed for at least 30 days. Grand jury proceedings will continue.

All currently scheduled hearings in criminal cases and in-person hearings in civil cases scheduled on or before May 1 are postponed, with some exceptions for emergency matters. All hearings in emergency matters will be conducted remotely “absent exceptional circumstances,” according to a district order.

In the Western District of Kentucky, civil and criminal trials scheduled to begin before April 17 are postponed for at least 30 days. All trials in progress will be completed at the discretion of the presiding judge. With certain exceptions, grand jury proceedings are also postponed.

In the state court system, all in-person appearances for civil and criminal dockets are canceled through April 24 except for emergency and time-sensitive matters. All scheduled civil trials, hearings and motions are postponed, and any civil trial or hearing currently in progress will be postponed or completed at the discretion of the presiding judge.

Louisiana
In the Eastern District of Louisiana, all civil and criminal bench and jury trials are postponed until May 1 and will be rescheduled by each presiding judge. The postponements do not include deadlines other than the trial dates. Civil and criminal in-person hearings scheduled before May 1 are postponed. All grand jury proceedings are suspended until May 1. The clerk’s office will not accept sealed paper documents for filing through May 1. All noncase-specific events, including naturalization ceremonies, scheduled before May 1 are canceled and will be rescheduled later.

The court is prohibiting those who have traveled to China, South Korea, Japan, Iran or Italy in the past two weeks from entering the New Orleans courthouse. The restriction also applies to those who have had close contact with someone who recently traveled to those countries, those who have tested positive for the coronavirus, those who have come into contact with someone who has tested positive, those who have been asked to self-quarantine and those with symptoms of COVID-19.

In the Middle District of Louisiana, all criminal and civil trials are postponed until at least May 1. All in-person civil hearings scheduled through April 10 are postponed and will be rescheduled by the presiding judge. All grand jury proceedings are postponed until further notice. Criminal matters before magistrate judges will take place remotely or in-person. Rearraignments and sentencing hearings scheduled before April 10 are postponed. Statute of limitations deadlines are interrupted until April 13. No in-person filings will be accepted before April 13. Those who have tested positive for the coronavirus, have symptoms or may have been exposed to the virus are prohibited from the courthouses.

In the Western District of Louisiana, all jury trials set to begin before May 1 are postponed and will be rescheduled by each presiding judge. Grand jury proceedings will continue. Judges may hold in-person hearings, and parties are encouraged to participate in nonsentencing hearings remotely. Noncase-related events scheduled through May 1, including naturalization ceremonies, are canceled. Those who have tested positive for the coronavirus, have symptoms or may have been exposed to the virus are prohibited from courthouses.

Public access to the Louisiana Western District Clerk of Court Offices in the Alexandria, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Monroe and Shreveport divisions is suspended. Any court filings may be time-stamped and placed in the drop box located in each division.

For state courts, all legal deadlines are suspended until at least April 13. All jury trials scheduled to start before April 13 are postponed until at least April 14. All civil trials, hearings and court appearances scheduled before April 13 are postponed, except for certain emergency proceedings. Essential court functions will be conducted remotely when possible.

Maine
In the District of Maine, all jury selections and jury trials set to begin before any district or magistrate judge are postponed until further notice. All grand jury proceedings are also postponed until further notice.

Public access to scheduled hearings will be permitted only with the prior permission of the presiding judge. The clerk’s office will be open by appointment only. In-person court proceedings are limited to, among other things, certain criminal matters; the issuance of search warrants; motions seeking immediate, emergency relief; and essential administrative functions.

In the state court system, the courts will schedule and hear only certain proceedings, including arraignments and first appearances of defendants held in custody; requests and hearings related to protection from abuse; child protection petitions and hearings; and hearings granted on motion. Other proceedings will not be scheduled or heard before May 1, and all previously scheduled cases are postponed.

Maryland
The District of Maryland has postponed until further notice all civil and criminal jury selections scheduled to begin before April 24. All nonemergency proceedings are postponed through April 24, and all filing deadlines between March 16 and April 24 are extended by six weeks. The court will remain open for emergency criminal, civil, and bankruptcy matters related to public safety, public health and welfare, and individual liberty. All misdemeanor, traffic and petty offense proceedings scheduled through May 31 are postponed until further notice.

As of March 31, all in-court proceedings will be heard on Mondays, Wednesdays or Fridays unless a presiding judge orders otherwise. Emergency proceedings may be heard on Tuesdays or Thursdays when necessary.

As of March 27, the requirement to deliver paper courtesy copies to the clerk’s office is temporarily suspended, unless otherwise ordered by a presiding judge.

All in-court proceedings in the Southern Division U.S. Courthouse in Greenbelt, Maryland, are suspended until further notice. All emergency matters in the Southern Division will be heard in the U.S. Courthouse in Baltimore.

Courthouse access is limited to litigants with scheduled proceedings, counsel, investigators or employees of counsel and credentialed press. The court is also prohibiting those who have visited China, Iran, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Egypt, Washington State and New Rochelle, New York, within the past two weeks from entering the courthouse, as well as those who have had contact with someone who has been in those areas, tested positive for the coronavirus, been in contact with someone who has tested positive or have been asked to self-quarantine.

On the state side, the Court of Appeals has ordered that all courts in the Maryland Judiciary, court offices, administrative offices, units of the judiciary, and clerk’s offices of the Circuit Courts are closed to the public on an emergency basis, effective March 16. Certain matters scheduled to be heard between March 16 through April 3 are postponed until further notice.

Massachusetts
The Massachusetts District Court announced that while the courthouses in Boston, Worcester and Springfield will remain open, all jury trials scheduled to begin before April 27 are postponed until further notice.

The court said that while trial-specific deadlines before April 27 in criminal cases are also postponed, judges can delay trial-specific deadlines for civil cases at their own discretion. Individual judges can continue to hold hearings, conferences and bench trials if they want, but the court is encouraging them to do so by telephone or video conference.

The court will continue to hold criminal proceedings involving personal liberty or public safety issues. Other criminal proceedings will be postponed 60 days as of March 16 with exceptions for certain proceedings, including initial appearances, detention hearings and arraignments. Those proceedings may be conducted remotely when feasible. Pretrial deadlines are also extended by 60 days. Grand jury proceedings are postponed until April 27.

The court is prohibiting visitors who recently traveled to China, Italy, Japan, Iran and South Korea from entering any courthouse or probation office in the district. Those who have had close contact with someone who visited those countries — as well as those who have symptoms of COVID-19, have tested positive for the virus or have been instructed by a doctor to self-quarantine — are also prohibited from visiting.

In the state court system, the only in-person proceedings that will be held in state courthouses through at least April 6 are emergency matters that can’t be handled remotely. Only essential parties can enter courthouses, and only up to three members of the news media will be allowed in for an emergency in-person proceeding. All civil and criminal jury and bench trials scheduled to begin before April 17 are postponed until at least April 21, unless the proceeding is a civil bench trial that can be conducted remotely. All statutes of limitation are tolled through April 21. Those who have tested positive for the coronavirus, have symptoms or may have been exposed to the virus are prohibited from entering any state courthouse.

The state appeals court has ordered that all cases scheduled for oral argument during the remainder of March will be held by telephone.

Michigan
The Eastern District of Michigan is prohibiting people who have visited China, South Korea, Italy and Iran in the last two weeks from entering any district courthouse until further notice. All civil and criminal matters scheduled for in-person appearances are postponed until further notice, as are grand jury proceedings. Case-by-case exceptions to postponements may be ordered for nonjury matters. Criminal matters before magistrate judges will continue to take place as usual.

The Theodore Levin U.S. Courthouse in Detroit closed to the public on March 25, and will remain closed to the public until the building owner can clean the courthouse according to federal guidelines. The district announced on March 27 that 10 court security officers showed COVID-19 symptoms, four were hospitalized, and two tested positive for the virus.

In the Western District of Michigan, judges will handle matters remotely as much as possible. All facilities in the district are closed to public access through April 13, except for the Ford Building in Grand Rapids and the Marquette Facility. Those facilities will be open by appointment only.

The district is also prohibiting: those who have had close contact with someone who has visited those four countries, have recently traveled to U.S. areas with widespread community transmission of the coronavirus, have been asked to self-quarantine, have tested positive for the virus or who exhibit the symptoms of COVID-19.

In the state court system, trial courts are limiting courtroom access to no more than 10 people at a time, including staff. The courts are practicing social distancing and limiting court activity to essential functions. All criminal jury trials are adjourned until after April 3. Most civil and business court matters, including trials, will be conducted remotely or adjourned until after April 3.

Minnesota
All criminal and grand jury proceedings are postponed until April 16. All jury trials are postponed through April 27, as are trial-specific deadlines. The clerk’s office intake desks will not accept cash payments, and the requirement that the filing party provide courtesy copies to the judge hearing the motion is suspended through April 27. The clerk’s office intake desks in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Duluth and Fergus Falls are closed to the public until further notice.

Video conferencing and telephone conferencing are allowed for several types of proceedings, including detention hearings, initial appearances, arraignments, felony pleas and felony sentencings.

The District of Minnesota is prohibiting those who have visited China, Iran, Italy and South Korea within the past two weeks from entering the courthouse, as well as those who have had contact with someone who has been in those countries, tested positive for the coronavirus, been in contact with someone who has tested positive or been asked to self-quarantine.

In the state court system, appellate courts can grant extensions for deadlines to initiate appeals or requests for review up to 30 days. The appellate courts may determine for any case that oral argument is unnecessary. In district courts, trials that have started as of March 13 will continue unless there is a need to suspend them. No new jury trials will begin before April 22 or until further order of the Minnesota Supreme Court. Public access to courtrooms will be limited.

Mississippi
In the Northern District of Mississippi, all proceedings should be conducted remotely where possible. For petty offenses, the hearing dates set to address misdemeanor citations in April and May will be continued until June and July, respectively. The cases set for the March hearing date will be disposed of at the discretion of the presiding judge. Public access to courthouses is limited to essential business.

In the Southern District of Mississippi, all nonessential matters set for hearing or trial through March 31 are postponed until further notice. Those who have symptoms or have tested positive for the coronavirus must notify the judge and counsel involved if they intend to come to court.

In the state court system, courts are limiting in-person contact through remote proceedings. When remote proceedings are not feasible, the court will conduct certain in-person proceedings, including jury trials currently in progress, emergency child protection matters, and other emergency and time-sensitive matters. Those who have tested positive for the coronavirus, have symptoms or may have been exposed to the virus are prohibited from entering state courts.

Missouri
In the Eastern District of Missouri, all civil and criminal jury trials scheduled to begin before May 31 are postponed. Proceedings should be held remotely where possible. In-person proceedings that a presiding judge determines are nonessential will be postponed until further notice. Naturalizations are postponed through April 6.

Those who have tested positive for the coronavirus, have symptoms or may have been exposed to the virus are prohibited from visiting any courthouse. All requirements related to in-person participation in alternative dispute resolution are suspended until May 31.

In the Western District of Missouri, all civil and criminal jury trials and grand juries are postponed through March 29, and trial-specific deadlines are postponed through the same date. All nonemergency criminal and civil hearings are postponed through March 29. Criminal matters before magistrate judges will continue to take place. Bankruptcy hearings and trials through March 29 will be held remotely or postponed.

In the state court system, all in-person proceedings are suspended through April 17, except for certain emergency and essential proceedings. Judges in each Circuit and appellate court will determine how the in-person proceedings are carried out.

Montana
In the District of Montana, all jury trials set to begin on or before May 1 are vacated, to be reset by order of the presiding judge. The order does not vacate any pending deadlines other than trial dates and final pretrial conferences. Grand jury proceedings are also vacated through May 1. Individual judges may hold nontrial proceedings in-person or remotely at their discretion. Group tours, attorney admission ceremonies and naturalization ceremonies are canceled through May 1. Continuance of creditors meetings in bankruptcy court will be suspended through April 16. Section 341 meetings will be postponed or conducted remotely. The court will not accept cash payments until further notice.

In the state court system, the Montana Supreme Court recommended that judges in district courts, the Montana Water Court and courts of limited jurisdiction reset civil jury matters through April 30 at the earliest. Judges should conduct necessary matters remotely whenever possible, the Supreme Court recommended. Priority must be given to necessary work in criminal matters, requests for orders of protection, and child abuse and neglect proceedings, the court said.

Nebraska
All jury trials set to begin in March are postponed until further notice, as are all grand jury proceedings scheduled for the month of March. The District of Nebraska has ordered that those who have recently visited China, South Korea, Japan, Italy or Iran should not attend in-person proceedings without court authorization.

The restriction also applies to those who have had contact with someone who has been in those countries, have tested positive for the coronavirus, been in contact with someone who has tested positive, have been asked to self-quarantine or exhibit symptoms of an infectious respiratory illness.

Nevada
In the District of Nevada, all trials and their associated deadlines are postponed until April 10. All noncase events are postponed. Naturalization ceremonies through March are postponed. The court is trying to conduct hearings remotely whenever possible. The clerk’s office is closed to the public as of March 20, but all filing deadlines are still in effect unless otherwise ordered by the presiding judge.

Those who have tested positive for the coronavirus, may have been exposed to it or show symptoms of COVID-19 are prohibited from visiting any courthouse.

In the district’s bankruptcy court, all hearings will be conducted remotely.

In the state court system, the Nevada Supreme Court and appellate courts have postponed all oral arguments until further notice.

New Hampshire
The New Hampshire District Court has postponed all civil and criminal jury trials scheduled to begin before May 1 and all grand jury proceedings scheduled before May 1. All criminal hearings scheduled before April 13 are postponed. All civil hearings and conferences scheduled to occur after March 20 will be conducted remotely. The court will conduct in-person hearings at the Rudman Courthouse in Concord on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with certain restrictions regarding the number of people who can be in a courtroom.

The court has also canceled all naturalization events that were scheduled before May 1.

Prospective jurors experiencing any flu-like symptoms, coughing, sneezing or fever should contact the district court before appearing. The court said it will make reasonable accommodations and reschedule appearances and hearings as needed.

In the state court system, all in-person proceedings in the Circuit, Superior and Supreme courts are suspended through April 6. Exceptions include certain emergency and essential proceedings.

New Jersey
For the New Jersey District Court, all civil and criminal jury selections and trials scheduled to begin before April 30 are postponed until further notice. Judges can continue to hold proceedings at their discretion and are encouraged to conduct proceedings remotely. No new grand juries will be empaneled before April 30, but sitting grand juries may continue to meet. Those who have tested positive for the coronavirus, have symptoms or may have been exposed to the virus are prohibited from entering any district courthouse.

Both district courthouses in Newark were closed from March 26 through April 6 after several employees tested positive for the coronavirus. No one is permitted to enter the buildings during the closure except for authorized cleaning staff.

For New Jersey state courts, new jury trials are suspended until further notice. Proceedings will be conducted remotely where possible. Time constraints for discovery will be relaxed and extended from March 16 through March 30. Pending motions will be subject to telephone conferencing as of March 18. All municipal court sessions are suspended through March 27.

Schedules for nonjury proceedings such as landlord-tenant and small claims hearings will be staggered to prevent large groups of people from gathering in a confined area. Out-of-state travel has been suspended for staffers, and nonessential court events like student tours have been canceled.

New Mexico
The District of New Mexico postponed all civil and criminal jury trials set to begin on or before April 10 until further notice. It also postponed all trial-specific deadlines in criminal cases scheduled to begin before April 10. All grand jury proceedings are postponed until further notice.

In the state court system, no more than 15 people will be allowed in each courtroom. Judges must conduct civil and criminal proceedings remotely except when an emergency requires an in-person appearance. Civil and criminal jury trials that have not started yet are suspended, and payment deadlines for fines and fees between March 19 and May 29 are extended by 30 days.

New York
The Southern District of New York has postponed until further notice all civil and criminal jury trials that were scheduled to begin before April 27. While case-related activities and naturalizations will continue, other noncase activities such as Continuing Legal Education events and school visits are canceled until further notice. All bankruptcy hearings and conferences scheduled to be held in the courthouses of the Manhattan Division, White Plains Division and Poughkeepsie Division of the bankruptcy court will be conducted by telephone unless the presiding judge decides otherwise.

The court urges= counsel to check individual judges’ webpages for possible orders, including orders extending time in civil matters and adjourning conferences.

The Thurgood Marshall Courthouse in Manhattan is closed for all district activities, except grand jury matters, through at least April 11. The Daniel Patrick Moynihan Courthouse in Manhattan is open only for certain urgent matters.

The Southern District is prohibiting those who have visited China, Italy, Iran, Japan or South Korea along with a slew of European countries, according to signs posted at courthouse entrances on March 12. The Eruropean countries are Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Vatican City, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, San Marino and Spain.

The court is also barring those with a fever, cough or shortness of breath, and the executive office in that district will not be issuing new attorney service passes until further notice. Access to courthouses is restricted to certain groups, including those with official court business, courthouse employees, certain contractors, mail carriers, law enforcement, credentialed press, family members of criminal defendants and jurors in ongoing trials.

In bankruptcy court, debtors with Chapter 13 cases before Chief Judge Cecelia G. Morris and Judge Sean H. Lane are waived from in-person court appearances. Attorneys and unrepresented debtors who are showing signs of illness must adjourn their cases. The contact for Judge Morris is Vanessa Ashmeade, (845) 451-6367. The contact for Judge Lane is Arturo Tavarez at (914) 467-7094.

The Eastern District of New York has postponed until further notice all civil and criminal jury trials that were scheduled to begin before April 27. All naturalization ceremonies are suspended for 45 days, as of March 16. All petty offense proceedings scheduled to begin before April 27 are postponed until further notice. In-person attorney admission ceremonies at all courthouses are suspended until further notice. For all criminal matters that had preliminary hearings before magistrate judges scheduled for March 18 through April 27, preliminary hearing deadlines are extended 60 days after the initial appearance.

The district is allowing video or telephone conferencing for several types of proceedings, including detention hearings, initial appearances and arraignments.

Access to court buildings is restricted to “those whose presence is essential,” according to an order. The court is prohibiting those who have traveled to China, Italy, Iran, Japan or South Korea and a slew of European countries in the past two weeks. Also prohibited are those who have come into close contact with anyone who has traveled to those countries within the past two weeks, have been asked to self-quarantine, tested positive for the coronavirus or have come into contact with someone who has tested positive.

In the Northern District of New York, all civil and criminal jury selections and trials — including for grand juries — scheduled to begin through April 30 are postponed until further notice. Other criminal matters before magistrate judges will continue to take place as usual. All mass public gatherings, including naturalization ceremonies, are suspended. Those who have tested positive for the coronavirus, have symptoms or may have been exposed to the virus are prohibited from entering any courthouse.

In the Western District of New York, all civil jury trials and grand jury selections are postponed for 60 days as of March 16. The court encouraged judges to reduce personal appearances for all other proceedings as much as they can. No naturalization ceremonies will be conducted for 60 days as of March 16. Those who have tested positive for the coronavirus, have symptoms or may have been exposed to the virus are prohibited from entering any courthouse.

For state courts, new civil and criminal jury trials will be suspended starting on March 16. Jury selection will also be halted, and grand juries will not be empaneled “absent exceptional circumstances,” although current grand juries will remain on duty along with some trial jurors. An executive order from Gov. Andrew Cuomo tolled all proceeding deadlines through April 19. No nonessential filings, paper or electronic, will be accepted by the courts until further notice. New York City Criminal Court will start holding proceedings through videoconferencing on March 25 and New York City Family Court will start holding remote proceedings on March 26.

New York state announced on March 11 that it is prohibiting anyone who has traveled to China, South Korea, Japan, Italy or Iran in the past 14 days from its 350 state-run courthouses.

Also banned from state courts are people who live with or have come into close contact with anyone who has been in one of those countries during that period, been asked to self-quarantine, and those who have either tested positive for the coronavirus or come into contact with someone who has tested positive.

The U.S. Court of International Trade in Manhattan is prohibiting entry to those who have visited China, Italy, Iran or South Korea in the past two weeks, as well as those who have been asked to self-quarantine. The restriction also applies to those who have tested positive for the coronavirus or have come into close contact with someone who has tested positive. The court is allowing teleconferencing and video conferencing with the approval of a presiding judge.

North Carolina
In the Eastern District of North Carolina, all civil and criminal jury trials set to begin on or before May 1 are postponed until further notice. All other hearings are subject to the presiding judge’s discretion. Grand jury proceedings will continue as usual, until further notice. Parties are encouraged to participate in proceedings remotely. Noncase events scheduled before May 1 are canceled. Those who have tested positive for the coronavirus, have symptoms of COVID-19 or may have been exposed to the virus are prohibited from visiting any courthouse without permission from the chief judge.

In the Middle District of North Carolina, all civil trials scheduled to begin before April 16 are postponed until further notice. All criminal cases are postponed to a date on or after April 16. Grand jury proceedings scheduled for March are canceled. Only those with official business are permitted to enter the district’s courthouses unless they have prior permission from the chief judge. Those who have tested positive for the coronavirus, have symptoms, or may have been exposed to the virus are prohibited from visiting any courthouse without permission from the chief judge.

In the Western District of North Carolina, judges are staggering their hearings, and hearings will be held in the largest courtroom available. Nonevidentiary hearings should be conducted remotely where possible.

In the state court system, the filing deadlines for documents previously due between March 16 and April 17 are extended to the end of the day on April 17. The order does not apply to the appellate courts. All civil and criminal District and Superior Court matters are postponed unless they are essential for constitutional or public safety reasons.

North Dakota
In the District of North Dakota, all jury trials scheduled before April 10 are postponed, as are trial-specific deadlines. Trial-specific deadlines in civil cases remain but may be postponed by individual judges. Criminal matters before magistrate judges will take place as usual. Grand jury proceedings scheduled through April 21 are postponed.

The North Dakota Supreme Court suspended all state jury trials until after April 24, but state courts are holding nonjury proceedings to the extent possible.

Northern Mariana Islands
In the District of the Northern Mariana Islands, all scheduled civil and criminal jury selections and trials are postponed until further notice. All grand jury proceedings are postponed unless otherwise ordered by the chief judge. The schedule for all other civil and criminal hearings will be determined on a case-by-case basis by the presiding judge. All noncase proceedings, including naturalization ceremonies, are postponed. Those who have tested positive for the coronavirus, have symptoms or may have been exposed to the virus are prohibited from entering the courthouse.

Ohio
In the Southern District of Ohio, certain in-court proceedings will continue but on a limited basis. The court will not have additional jury trials for 30 days beginning March 17. Proceedings that don’t require in-person meetings will continue at the discretion of each judge. Naturalization ceremonies are postponed until at least April 13.

In the Northern District of Ohio, all civil jury trials, reentry court proceedings and petty offense proceedings scheduled to begin before May 1 are postponed until further notice. Criminal trials will not proceed unless absolutely necessary, and grand juries will not meet unless absolutely necessary. Judges may conduct pretrial proceedings remotely where practical. All mass public gatherings, including naturalization ceremonies, are suspended until at least May 1. All courthouses in the district are closed to the public until May 1. Cash payments will not be accepted in the court until May 1.

The Ohio Supreme Court has provided guidance for state courts, including waiving appearances for pretrial hearings and using video conferencing or other technology to conduct proceedings including arraignments, hearings, pretrial hearings and probation meetings.

Oklahoma
In the Northern District of Oklahoma, all civil and criminal matters scheduled for in-court appearances are postponed until further notice, as are their related deadlines. All grand jury proceedings are postponed until further notice. Case-by-case exceptions to nonjury matters may be ordered. Civil and criminal motions that can be resolved without oral argument are unaffected.

In the Western District of Oklahoma, jury trials on the April docket are postponed. The presiding judge will address trial-related deadlines. Three grand jury sessions scheduled for March and April are canceled.

In the Eastern District of Oklahoma, all jury trials, grand jury sessions and naturalization ceremonies scheduled to start on or before April 17 in the Ed Edmondson Federal Courthouse in Muskogee are postponed. Those who have COVID-19 symptoms, have tested positive for the coronavirus or may have been exposed to the virus are prohibited from entering the courthouse.

On the state side, the Oklahoma Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeals ordered on March 16 that all state courts cancel all jury terms for 30 days and release jurors from service. All deadlines in any civil, criminal and juvenile cases are also suspended for 30 days. The statute of limitations is extended by 30 days in all civil cases, and judges will handle emergency matters and required proceedings on a case-by-case basis. Those who have tested positive for the coronavirus, have symptoms or may have been exposed to the virus are prohibited from entering any courtroom or other facility used by the state courts.

Oregon
In the District of Oregon, civil and criminal jury selections and trials scheduled to begin before April 26 are postponed until further notice. All grand jury proceedings scheduled before that date are postponed. All other civil and criminal matters scheduled for an in-court appearance before April 26 are postponed unless they can be resolved remotely or without oral argument. The District Clerk’s Office is closed to the public in all locations but available by phone. Filings will be processed electronically and by mail.

In the state court system, trials and hearings scheduled to start between March 19 and March 27 are postponed, with limited exceptions. The Oregon Court of Appeals has canceled oral arguments scheduled between March 17 and March 27. Trial courts throughout the state are reducing the number of people summoned as jurors. Potential jurors who are in high-risk categories for severe illness can contact the court to reschedule their jury service.

Pennsylvania
In the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, all civil and criminal jury trials and grand jury selections are postponed until April 13.

In the Western District of Pennsylvania, all civil and criminal jury trials and grand jury selections are postponed until April 26.

In the Middle District of Pennsylvania, all hearings and proceedings in civil and criminal cases are postponed for 60 days as of March 13, with exceptions for certain individual cases.

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania ordered all trial and intermediate appellate courts, with exceptions for certain essential functions, to close their doors entirely through April 3 at the earliest. The state Supreme Court’s argument session scheduled for April 20 through April 22 is canceled, and cases listed for that session will be decided on the briefs.

Puerto Rico
In the District of Puerto Rico, all civil and criminal nonjury trials, hearings and conferences are postponed until further notice, but certain ongoing trials will continue. Grand jury proceedings will continue as scheduled. All deadlines set from March 16 through April 9 are extended until April 10.

The bankruptcy court will not be open to the public through March 30. All hearings scheduled from March 16 through March 30 are postponed and will be rescheduled individually.

Rhode Island
In the District of Rhode Island, the courthouse building at One Exchange Terrace, Providence, is closed to the public until further notice. The court operations in the John O. Pastore Building in Providence will be closed Tuesdays and Thursdays and will be open for limited purposes only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The presiding judge’s case manager will cancel all in-person civil matters and arrange remote hearings where possible. All grand jury proceedings and ongoing criminal hearings are postponed unless the person’s liberty interests are involved.

Those who are required to appear in Rhode Island’s district court, including those who are called as jurors, must contact the court before appearing if they are experiencing any flu-like symptoms. Those who have traveled to China, Italy, Iran and South Korea in the past two weeks are prohibited from entering the courthouse, as are those who may have been exposed to the virus.

In the state court system, all Superior Court jury trials are postponed until after April 17. All Superior Court grand jury proceedings are suspended until after April 17. All other matters in the state courts are postponed until after April 17 except for emergency and essential matters. All payment dates and filing deadlines are extended for 30 days as of March 17. The courts will entertain requests for extensions to statutes of limitation after the 30 days if they arise from the current health crisis.

South Carolina
In the District of South Carolina, all civil and criminal jury selections and trials scheduled to start through May 8 are postponed until further notice. All grand jury proceedings scheduled through May 8 are postponed unless otherwise noted by the chief judge. In all civil cases, deadlines are extended 21 days, but statutes of limitation are not tolled. All other civil and criminal matters scheduled for an in-court appearance before May 8 and their associated deadlines are postponed, unless the matter can be resolved remotely.

In the state court system, all oral arguments scheduled before appellate courts as of March 20 are canceled until further notice. Parties do not need to file additional document copies with the South Carolina Supreme Court or the Court of Appeals. In the Circuit Courts, only emergency hearings shall be held at the discretion of each chief administrative judge. All jury trials are postponed, and all large gatherings are canceled until further notice. Hearings that can be held by video may be held remotely.

South Dakota
In the District of South Dakota, all civil and criminal jury trials scheduled to begin on or before April 24 are postponed until further notice. Nonjury matters will proceed as scheduled unless otherwise ordered by the presiding judge, and parties are encouraged to participate remotely where possible. All grand jury proceedings scheduled before April 24 are postponed until further notice.

The South Dakota Supreme Court declared a judicial emergency and authorized the presiding judges of the state’s seven judicial circuits to adopt rules and orders regarding court operations. Each circuit put forward policies to address requests from high-risk individuals to be excused from in-person court appearances.

Tennessee
In the Eastern District of Tennessee, civil and criminal jury trials set to begin on or before April 24 are postponed. Cases not scheduled for a trial will proceed as scheduled, but oral proceedings will be conducted remotely where possible. Grand jury proceedings in Greeneville and Chattanooga are suspended through April 24. All misdemeanor, petty offense and traffic dockets scheduled through April 24 are postponed. Tours and naturalization ceremonies are canceled until further notice.

In the Western District of Tennessee, all civil judicial proceedings currently scheduled are postponed until after April 17. Criminal proceedings that don’t require in-person appearances are postponed until after April 17. All civil and criminal jury selections and trials scheduled to begin on or before April 17 are postponed until further notice. All grand juries already selected will not meet until after April 17. The federal courthouse at 111 S. Highland Ave. in Jackson is closed to the public until further notice.

The Middle District of Tennessee has postponed civil and criminal jury selections that were scheduled to begin March 17 through March 30. All grand jury proceedings scheduled to take place between March 17 and April 30 are postponed, as are related deadlines.

Tennessee’s state and local courts have suspended all in-person proceedings from the close of business on March 13 through April 30, with certain exceptions including: bond-related matters for criminal defendants, plea agreements for incarcerated people, civil and criminal jury trials that are in progress as of March 13, and proceedings related to relief from abuse, emergency child custody orders, petitions for temporary injunctive relief, emergency mental health orders, emergency protection of elderly or vulnerable people and proceedings related to COVID-19.

Deadlines — including statutes of limitations, orders of protection and temporary injunctions — that are set to expire between March 13 and May 5 are extended through May 6.

Texas
The Northern District of Texas has postponed all civil and criminal bench and jury trials scheduled to begin through May 1 until further notice. The postponement does not include other deadlines besides the trial date. All grand jury proceedings through May 1 are postponed, and all deadlines, including the statute of limitations, are suspended through May 1. Public tours and naturalization ceremonies scheduled through May 1 are canceled and will be rescheduled later.

The Southern District of Texas said Thursday that it is suspending all jury trials until April 1. The federal courthouse in Houston will remain open for other matters, including matters scheduled for hearing in bankruptcy court, the district said.

In the Eastern District Court, attorneys and parties were ordered to communicate if court proceedings could cause someone to come into contact with an individual exposed to or infected with the virus.

The Western District of Texas postponed all civil and criminal bench and jury trials scheduled to begin before May 1. Each presiding judge will reset those dates, and the postponement does not apply to any pending deadlines other than the trial dates. Grand jury matters will proceed normally. Parties are encouraged to participate in nonsentencing proceedings by telephone or video. Other matters such as tours and naturalization ceremonies that were scheduled to take place before May 1 are canceled.

The Western District of Texas postponed scheduled proceedings in all civil and criminal bench and jury trials set to begin before May 1, with the exception of pleas, sentencings, criminal matters before magistrate judges and the issuance of warrants. All deadlines in a scheduling order, besides the trial date, remain in effect unless modified by the assigned judge. Parties are encouraged to participate in nonsentencing proceedings by telephone or video. Other matters such as tours and naturalization ceremonies that were scheduled to take place before May 1 are canceled.

On the state side, the Texas Supreme Court issued guidance Thursday calling on courts to suspend proceedings or schedule them to avoid gatherings of large groups of people until at least April 1, including jury trials and large docket calls. It is encouraging courts to implement remote appearances by phone or video for all proceedings that may occur remotely.

The Harris County Civil District Court, serving the Houston area, has suspended civil jury trials for the rest of March and has suspended criminal jury trials through March 20.

Dallas County has canceled all jury trials through May 8.

Collin County District Courts are rescheduling all nonessential court matters from March 16 to April 1. All in-person hearings and trials will be rescheduled during this time, unless designated as “essential,” a list that includes temporary restraining orders, temporary injunctions and any suits or hearings with jurisdictional deadlines. Attorneys must contact each court regarding each setting. No uncontested matters will be heard. The courts are developing a plan for electronic appearances.

U.S. Virgin Islands
In the District of the Virgin Islands, all civil and criminal jury and bench trials scheduled from March 18 through April 16 are postponed until further notice. Sitting grand juries are not authorized to meet before April 16, and no new grand juries will be empaneled during that time. The 30-day time period for filing an indictment is tolled through April 16. Those who have tested positive for the coronavirus, have symptoms or may have been exposed to the virus are prohibited from visiting the courthouses.

The Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands ordered that all nonessential functions of the judicial branch be suspended until further notice. In the Supreme Court, deadlines in appeals pending as of March 20 are extendedeither by 14 days or to April 27, whichever is longer. Deadlines in original proceedings, such as for mandamus or other writs, are still in effect unless the presiding judge has ordered otherwise. The time to file a notice of appeal or other initiating document is tolled through April 26, and the period from March 23 through April 26 is excluded from the 120-day period for the Superior Court to rule on post-judgment motions.

In the Superior Court, all deadlines in cases pending as of March 20 are extended either by 14 days or to April 27, whichever is longer. All previously scheduled depositions may occur as scheduled, and new depositions may be scheduled, but parties are encouraged to agree to postpone depositions if possible.

Utah
In the District of Utah, all civil and criminal jury trials scheduled to begin before May 1 are postponed until further notice. All trial-related deadlines in criminal trials scheduled to begin before May 1 are postponed until further notice, but criminal trials already underway as of March 16 will continue. Judges can postpone trial-related deadlines in civil cases at their discretion. All grand jury proceedings are suspended through May 1.

All currently scheduled hearings in criminal cases are postponed, but the assigned judge in each case may proceed with the hearings remotely.

In the state court system, those with symptoms of COVID-19 and those who may have been exposed to the coronavirus are not allowed to enter any courthouse. The Utah Supreme Court directed state court judges to grant motions for extensions of time liberally. Hearings will be conducted remotely or on the papers, “absent exigent circumstances,” according to the state Supreme Court’s order. District Court and Justice Court judges were directed to suspend all criminal and civil jury trials until after June 1.

Vermont
In the District of Vermont, all civil and criminal matters scheduled for in-person court appearances are postponed until further notice. The court’s order does not affect motions that can be resolved remotely or without oral argument. All grand jury proceedings are postponed until April 23.

In the state court system, all nonemergency superior court hearings, including jury trials, are postponed until at least April 15. The courts will only schedule and hear certain emergency matters. Parties may participate in nonevidentiary proceedings remotely.

Those who have tested positive for the coronavirus, have symptoms or may have been exposed to the virus are prohibited from entering state courthouses.

Virginia
In the Eastern District of Virginia, all civil and criminal proceedings scheduled to occur through March 31 are postponed and will be rescheduled for a later date. The grand jury is not meeting, but the district is permitted to seek documents and testimony for return dates after March 31. All filing deadlines between March 17 and March 31 are extended by two weeks unless otherwise ordered by the presiding judge. The court’s order does not apply to the statute of limitations.

The Eastern District of Virginia has postponed all naturalization ceremonies for the remainder of March and has suspended all noncase-related events, tours and other gatherings in the courthouses.

In the Western District of Virginia, all in-person civil, criminal and bankruptcy proceedings scheduled on or before May 1 are postponed and will be rescheduled at a later date. All civil and criminal jury trials scheduled on or before May 1 are postponed and will be rescheduled. All misdemeanor, traffic and petty offense dockets on or before May 1 are postponed, and all Veterans Treatment Court, Reentry Court and Drug Treatment Court sessions on or before May 1 are canceled. Grand jury proceedings scheduled on or before April 17 are postponed.

In the state court system, the Virginia Supreme Court and Rose Lafoon Building in Richmond are closed to the public until further notice. All filings related to appeals to the Court of Appeals that are filed in a Circuit Court are extended by 21 days, as of March 16. The Court of Appeals will conduct remote arguments at least through June 30.

Washington
In the Western District of Washington, all civil and criminal hearings and trial dates scheduled to occur before June 1 are postponed until further notice. Individual judges may decide to proceed with remote conferences as appropriate. All grand jury proceedings scheduled before June 1 are postponed. All initial criminal appearances and detention hearings will be conducted remotely with the defendant’s permission, unless the court directs otherwise. The bankruptcy court will continue with scheduled nonevidentiary hearings by telephone as posted on www.wawb.uscourts.gov and announced by the individual bankruptcy judge.

In the Eastern District of Washington, all in-court hearings in civil and criminal cases scheduled through April 14 are vacated until further notice, and case-related deadlines are suspended. All grand jury sessions before April 13 are vacated. Magistrate judges can evaluate their essential proceedings on a case-by-case basis. Naturalization ceremonies have been canceled through April 30.

In the state court system, all civil jury trials are suspended until after April 24. Trials already in session may proceed or may be postponed to a later date at the discretion of the judge or by agreement of the parties. All nonemergency civil matters are postponed until after April 24, and emergency matters must be held remotely, if possible. All criminal jury trials are postponed until after April 24. Criminal trials already in session with sworn juries may proceed if public health measures are strictly observed, but may be postponed if the defendant agrees to do so.

Washington, D.C.
All federal civil and criminal jury trials in D.C. federal courts have been put off starting March 17 until at least May 11, while other proceedings are postponed until April 17. Federal trial and bankruptcy courts in D.C. will remain open with limited operations.

The D.C. Superior Court has postponed citation arraignments scheduled for March 17 through April 15 for eight weeks from their originally scheduled date. New jury trials in criminal cases are postponed until at least March 30. The court will hear only emergency matters in the civil, family court, probate and tax divisions and auditor master. In general, all other matters are postponed.

The D.C. Court of Appeals has canceled all oral arguments scheduled through March 31. Filing deadlines on or after March 16 are also being delayed until March 31.

The U.S. Tax Court building is closed until further notice, and various trial sessions through March and April have been canceled.

West Virginia
In the Northern District of West Virginia, those who have tested positive for the coronavirus, have symptoms or may have been exposed to the virus are prohibited from entering any courthouse.

In the Southern District of West Virginia, all civil and criminal jury trials and grand jury proceedings are postponed until further notice. Those who tested positive for the coronavirus, have symptoms or may have been exposed to the virus are prohibited from entering any courthouse.

In the state court system, all proceedings and judicial deadlines through April 10 are stayed, except for certain emergency proceedings. Deadlines set to expire before then, including statutes of limitation, are extended to April 11. Proceedings previously scheduled between March 23 and April 10 are postponed and will be rescheduled by the presiding judge. Emergency proceedings should be conducted remotely when possible

Wisconsin
In the Eastern District of Wisconsin, all civil and criminal jury trials scheduled to begin before May 1 are postponed and will be rescheduled for a later date. All petty offense, reentry court and grand jury proceedings are also postponed. Civil hearings should be conducted remotely. Naturalization ceremonies scheduled before May 1 are canceled. Those who are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms or may have come into contact with the virus are prohibited from visiting any courthouse.

In the Western District of Wisconsin, the Kastenmeier Courthouse in Madison will remain open and proceedings will go on as scheduled. Those who feel ill should stay away from the courthouse.

In the state court system, all civil and criminal jury trials scheduled to begin on or before May 22 are postponed and will be rescheduled by the presiding judges. All in-person proceedings in appellate and Circuit courts, with certain exceptions, are suspended through April 30.

Wyoming
In the District of Wyoming, judges are conducting matters remotely where possible. Those who have tested positive for the coronavirus, have symptoms or may have been exposed to the virus — including those who have recently visited Iran, China, South Korea or a host of European countries — are prohibited from entering the courthouse.

In the state court system, all District and Circuit courts have suspended in-person proceedings, with certain exceptions. The Wyoming Supreme Court ordered that all civil trials in state courts be rescheduled and that the courts make reasonable attempts to reschedule criminal trials. The Wyoming Supreme Court building in Cheyenne is closed to the public. The rules requiring paper copies of documents that can be filed electronically are suspended in the Wyoming Supreme Court.

IMMIGRATION COURTS

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review has postponed all immigration court hearings for immigrants who aren’t in detention through May 1, although hearings on the docket for detainees are continuing.

Four courts in Miami, San Francisco, Kentucky and New Jersey were fully closed as of April 1.

Filings intended for Miami’s Krome center and San Francisco’s Montgomery St. court can be submitted to other courts in those cities. Filings for the Elizabeth, New Jersey, court can be sent to the Newark court.

The Louisville, Kentucky, immigration court has been closed since August for reasons unrelated to the virus, but filers can submit to the Memphis, Tennessee, immigration court.

Filings in closed courts may also be submitted by email, EOIR announced on March 31.

These 20 courts are fully open: Adelanto, California; Baltimore; Batavia, New York; Conroe, Texas; Eloy, Arizona, El Paso, Texas, Service Processing Center; Falls Church, Virginia, Immigration Adjudication Center; Fishkill, New York; Florence, Arizona; Fort Worth, Texas; LaSalle, Louisiana; Oakdale, Louisiana; Otay Mesa, California; Otera, New Mexico; Pearsall, Texas; Port Isabel, Texas; Stewart, Georgia; Tacoma, Washington; Ulster, New York; and York, Pennsylvania.

The remainder of immigration courts have been kept partially open, and in some cases reopened, for the limited purpose of accepting filings, and if applicable, holding hearings for detained immigrants.

U.S. PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE

All examiner and examining attorney interviews, Patent Trial and Appeal Board and Trademark Trial and Appeal Board oral hearings and other similar in-person meetings scheduled to take place at USPTO offices on or after March 13 will be conducted remotely by video or telephone until further notice.

INTERNATIONAL COURTS

European Court of Justice & General Court of the European Union

Both the ECJ and the General Court have partially closed their doors. The courts will hear only urgent matters until further notice. All other cases already scheduled until March 27 at the ECJ and April 3 at the General Court will be heard at a later date. The filing deadlines for all cases will not change. The ECJ has also advised staff not to go into the court buildings from March 16 to 27 unless it is necessary for a specific case.

–Additional reporting by Stewart Bishop, Dorothy Atkins, Suzanne Monyak, Matt Chiappardi and Melissa Lipman. Editing by Jill Coffey.

Posted in Coronavirus, Federal Government, Federal Law, Health Care Providers and Services, Knicole Emanuel, Legal Remedies for Medicaid Providers, Medicaid, Medicaid Advocate, Medicaid Attorney, Medicaid Providers, Medicaid Services, Medicare, Medicare and Medicaid Provider Audits, Medicare Appeal Process, Medicare Attorney, North Carolina, Office of Administrative Hearings, Provider Appeals of Adverse Decisions for Medicare and Medicaid

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Tags: Administrative court, Administrative law, Coronavirus, Court Closings, Knicole Emanuel, Medicaid, Medicaid Attorney; Medicaid Lawyer; Medicare Attorney Medicare Lawyer, Medicaid Audits, Medicare, Medicare Audits, Potomac Law, Potomac Law Group

Coronavirus Shuts Down Courts

Mar 16

Posted by kemanuel

Coronavirus shuts down Courts across North Carolina. As of now, Superior and District Courts remain open…for now.

*My next blog will explore the new budget and emergency measures implemented for Medicare and Medicaid. More money will be funded to both during this crisis…TBD. How is the Coronavirus impacting health care?

The following emergency directive was initiated, effective TODAY.

On 10 March 2020, Governor Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency in North Carolina in response to the emerging public health threat posed by COVID-19. Since that time, the World Health Organization has designated the COVID-19 outbreak as a global pandemic, and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has urged all North Carolinians to take steps to reduce the spread of infection. Accordingly, I hereby determine and declare under N.C.G.S. § 7A-39(b)(2) that catastrophic conditions resulting from the public health threat posed by COVID-19 exist in all counties of this state. Although the superior courts and district courts remain open, two emergency directives are necessary to reduce the spread of infection.

Emergency Directive 1

I order that all superior court and district court proceedings be scheduled or rescheduled for a date no sooner than 30 days from the issuance of this order, unless: 1. the proceeding will be conducted remotely; 2. the proceeding is necessary to preserve the right to due process of law (e.g., a first appearance or bond hearing, the appointment of counsel for an indigent defendant, a probation hearing, a probable cause hearing, etc.); 3. the proceeding is for the purpose of obtaining emergency relief (e.g., a domestic violence protection order, temporary restraining order, juvenile custody order, judicial consent to juvenile medical treatment order, civil commitment order, etc.); or 4. the senior resident superior court judge, chief business court judge, or chief district court judge determines that the proceeding can be conducted under conditions that protect the health and safety of all participants. This emergency directive does not apply to any proceeding in which a jury has already been empaneled. This emergency directive does not apply to grand juries which have already been empaneled. This emergency directive does not prohibit a judge or other judicial officer from exercising any in chambers or ex parte jurisdiction conferred by law upon that judge or judicial officer, as provided by law. Additionally, I encourage the superior courts and district courts to liberally grant additional accommodations to parties, witnesses, attorneys, and others with business before the courts who are at a high risk of severe illness from COVID-19.

Emergency Directive 2

I further order that the clerks of superior court shall post a notice at the entrance to every court facility in their county directing that any person who has likely been exposed to COVID-19 should not enter the courthouse. A person who has likely been exposed to COVID-19 who has business before the courts shall contact the clerk of superior court’s office by telephone or other remote means, inform court personnel of the nature of his or her business before the court, and receive further instruction. For purposes of this order, a person who has likely been exposed to COVID-19 is defined as any person who: 1. has traveled to China, South Korea, Japan, Italy, or Iran within the previous 14 days; 2. has been directed to quarantine, isolate, or self-monitor; 3. has been diagnosed with COVID-19; or 4. resides with or has been in close contact with any person in the above mentioned categories.

* * * The directives contained in this order will take effect Monday, 16 March 2020.

This order may be extended in whole or in part for additional 30-day periods if necessary.

Issued this the 13th day of March, 2020. Cheri Beasley, Chief Justice Supreme Court of North Carolina

Posted in Access to Care, Administrative Law Judge, Administrative Remedies, Agency, Federal Law, Knicole Emanuel, Legal Analysis, Medicaid, Medicaid Advocate, Medicaid Appeals, Medicaid Attorney, Medicare and Medicaid Provider Audits, Medicare Attorney, Medicare Budget, Medicare Reimbursement Rates

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Tags: Coronavirus, COVID-19, Governor Cooper, Health care, Knicole Emanuel, Medicaid, Medicaid Attorney; Medicaid Lawyer; Medicare Attorney Medicare Lawyer, Medicare, North Carolina, Potomac Law, Potomac Law Group, World Health Organization

Why Auditors Can’t be Unbiased

Feb 20

Posted by kemanuel

Last week on Monitor Mondays, Knicole Emanuel, Esq. reported on the case of Commonwealth v. Pediatric Specialist, PLLC, wherein the Recovery Audit Contractors’ (RACs’) experts were prohibited from testifying because they were paid on contingency. This means that the auditor (or the company for which they work) is paid some percentage of the overpayment findings it reports.

In this case, as in most nowadays, the overpayment estimate was based upon extrapolation, which means that the auditor extended the overpayment amount found in the sample to that of all claims within the universe from which the sample was drawn. I have written about this process before, but basically, it can turn a $1,500 overpayment on the sample into a $1.5 million overpayment demand.

The key to an effective extrapolation is that the statistical process is appropriate, proper, and accurate. In many audits, this is not the case, and so what happens is, if the provider believes that the extrapolation is not appropriate, they may choose to challenge the results in their appeal. Many times, this is when they will hire a statistician, like me, to review the statistical sampling and overpayment estimate (SSOE), including data and documentation to assist with the appeal. I have worked on hundreds of these post-audit extrapolation mitigation appeals over the years, and even though I am employed by the provider, I maintain a position as an independent fact-finder. My reports are based on facts and figures, and my opinion is based on those findings. Period.

So, what is it that allows me to remain independent? To perform my job without undue influence or bias? Is it my incredibly high ethical standards? Check! My commitment to upholding the standards of my industry? Check! Maybe my good looks? Well, not check! It is the fact that my fees are fixed, and are not contingent on the outcome. I mean, it would be great if I could do what the RACs do and cash in on the outcomes of a case, but alas, no such luck.

In one large class-action case in which I was the statistical expert, the defendant settled for $122 million. The law firm got something like a quarter or a third of that, and the class members all received some remuneration as well. Me? I got my hourly rate, and after the case was done, a bottle of Maker’s Mark whiskey as a thank you. And I’m not even sure that was appropriate, so I sent it back. I would love to be paid a percentage of what I am able to save a client in this type of appeal. I worked on a case a couple of years ago for which we were able to get the extrapolation thrown out, which reduced the payment demand from $5.9 million to $3,300. Imagine if I got paid even 2 percent of that; it would be nearly $120,000. But that can’t happen, because the moment my work product is tied to the results, I am no longer independent, nor unbiased. I don’t care how honest or ethical you are, contingency deals change the landscape – and that is as true for me, as an expert, as it is for the auditor.

In the pediatric case referenced above, the RAC that performed the audit is paid on a contingency, although I like to refer to it as a “bounty.” As such, the judge ruled, as Ms. Emanuel reported, that their experts could not testify on behalf of the RAC. Why not? Because the judge, unlike the RAC, is an independent arbiter, and having no skin in the game, is unbiased in their adjudication. But you can’t say that about the RAC. If they are being paid a “bounty” (something like 10 percent), then how in the world could they be considered independent and unbiased?

The short answer is, they can’t. And this isn’t just based on standards of statistical practice; it is steeped in common sense. Look at the appeal statistics; some 50 percent of all RAC findings are eventually reversed in favor of the provider. If that isn’t evidence of an overzealous, biased, bounty-hunting process, I don’t know what is. Basically, as Knicole reported, having their experts prohibited from testifying, the RAC was unable to contest the provider’s arguments, and the judge ruled in favor of the provider.

But, in my opinion, it should not stop here. This is one of those cases that exemplifies the “fruit of the poisonous tree” defense, meaning that if this case passes muster, then every other case for which the RAC did testify and the extrapolation held should be challenged and overturned. Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of all of those affected by RAC extrapolated audits. And if there is one, I would love to be the statistical expert – but for a flat fee, of course, and not contingent upon the outcome.

And that’s the world according to Frank.

Frank Cohen is a frequent panelist with me on RACMonitor. I love his perspective on expert statistician witnesses. He drafted based off a Monitor Monday report of mine. Do not miss both Frank and me on RACMonitor, every Monday.

Posted in Accountability, Administrative Law Judge, Administrative Remedies, Alleged Overpayment, CMS, Federal Government, Federal Law, Health Care Providers and Services, Knicole Emanuel, Lawsuit, Legal Analysis, Medicaid, Medicaid Advocate, Medicaid Attorney, Medicaid Providers, Medicaid Reimbursements, Medicare, Medicare and Medicaid Provider Audits, Medicare Attorney, Medicare Audits, Medicare RAC, Medicare Reimbursement Rates, Provider Appeals of Adverse Decisions for Medicare and Medicaid

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Tags: Extrapolation, Frank Cohen, Knicole Emanuel, Medicaid Attorney; Medicaid Lawyer; Medicare Attorney Medicare Lawyer, Medicaid Extrapolation, Medicaid RAC Audits, Medicare extrapolations, Medicare RAC Audits, Monitor Mondays, RAC Audit, RAC Audits, RACMonitor, Recovery Audit Contractor

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A Medicare and Medicaid Legal Blog for health care providers, Medicaid recipients, and politically-interested persons by Knicole C. Emanuel, attorney at Gordon & Rees in Raleigh, NC.

Category Archives: Office of Administrative Hearings

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FEDERAL APPEALS COURTS

FEDERAL DISTRICT COURTS AND STATE COURTS

IMMIGRATION COURTS

U.S. PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE

INTERNATIONAL COURTS

Coronavirus Shuts Down Courts

Why Auditors Can’t be Unbiased

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