Resources

Client Alerts, News Articles, Blog Posts, & Multimedia

Everything you need to know about BMD and the industry.

Governor DeWine Signs Bill Tolling Statutes of Limitations During COVID-19 Emergency Period

Client Alert
March 27, 2020

During his March 27, 2020 press conference on Ohio’s ongoing efforts to respond to COVID-19, Governor Mike DeWine officially signed House Bill 197 into law. HB 197, which passed the Ohio House and Senate with unanimous bipartisan support, contains important provisions affecting the legal rights of litigants whose claims may be subject to the statutes of limitations enacted under the Ohio Revised Code.

As applied to civil cases, HB 197 provides that any statute of limitations set to expire between March 9, 2020 and July 30, 2020 “shall be tolled.” This includes, but is not limited to, the specific statutes of limitations for contract and tort claims codified in Revised Code Chapter 2305.

The tolling of Ohio’s statutes of limitations is made retroactive to March 9, 2020 (the date of Governor DeWine’s proclamation of a State of Emergency in Executive Order 2020-01D) and will expire on July 30, 2020 or “on the date the period of emergency ends,” whichever is sooner. As it pertains to civil cases, HB 197 also tolls: “the time within which discovery or any aspect of discovery must be completed,” “the time within which a party must be served,” and “any other criminal, civil, or administrative time limitation or deadline under the Revised Code.” HB 197 also tolls limitations periods and other deadlines applicable to criminal, administrative, and domestic relations cases.

Parties should be aware that tolling is not an enlargement, but an interruption of the statute of limitations that prevents the applicable statute(s) from running (or expiring) during the tolling period. Accordingly, statutes of limitations that expired prior to March 9, 2020 or are set to expire on or after July 30, 2020 remain unaffected and are not extended or altered by HB 197. Parties should consult with experienced legal counsel to determine the impact of HB 197 on claims for which the statute of limitations would otherwise expire during the tolling period as defined by HB 197. In particular, the duration of the emergency period as defined in the Governor’s March 9, 2020 Executive Order will impact the legal rights of parties whose claims are subject to HB 197’s tolling provisions.  

While HB 197 impacts the statutes of limitations and other deadlines set forth in the Ohio Revised Code, it makes no mention of continuing hearings, trials, or individual case management orders. Parties should consult any scheduling orders issued in their own cases, as well as any administrative or general orders issued by the court in which they are appearing, to determine how COVID-19 is impacting deadlines and appearance dates in their case. A link to all administrative and general orders issued by Ohio state courts in response to the pandemic is available through the Ohio Judicial Conference.

For questions, contact BMD Litigation Partner Daniel J. Rudary at 330.374.7477.

DeWineCOVID-19 Emergency PeriodTollingStatutes of LimitationsDaniel J. Rudary
Client Alert

IMPORTANT PRF UPDATE! HRSA Allows Providers the Opportunity to Correct Missed Period 1 Reporting

April 7, 2022Late Wednesday, April 6, HRSA announced that it was going to allow providers with extenuating circumstances that prevented them from preventing a completed Period 1 Report to submit a Request to Report Late Due to Extenuating Circumstances.Client Alert

Advanced Practice Providers and Telemedicine Start-Up Surge

March 8, 2022Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we heard a lot about “surges” that happened all over the country regarding the virus. One of the other interesting “surges” we have followed is the “surge” in new healthcare business start-ups, particularly businesses owned by advanced practice providers, such as nurse practitioners, physician assistants, certified nurse midwives, clinical nurse specialists, and certified registered nurse anesthetists (“Advanced Practice Providers” or “APPs”). One of the hottest areas in the healthcare start-up surge has been the creation of practices that are telemedicine focused.Client Alert

Ohio Department of Health Releases Updated Charge Limits for Medical Records

March 7, 2022Under Ohio law, a healthcare provider or medical records company that receives a request for a copy of a patient's medical record may charge an amount in accordance with the limits set forth in Ohio Revised Code Section 3701.741. The allowable amounts are increased or decreased annually by the average percentage of increase or decrease in the consumer price index for all urban consumers, prepared by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, for the immediately preceding calendar year over the calendar year immediately preceding that year, as reported by the Bureau. The Director of the Ohio Department of Health makes this determination and adjusts the amounts accordingly. The list is then published, here.Client Alert

No Surprises Act Compliance (Published by NAMAS, 2/25/22)

March 7, 2022The Department of Health and Human Services published three parts to the No Surprises Act towards the end of 2021, which took effect January 1, 2022. The Act is intended to protect consumers from “balance billing,” which occurs when a patient receives a bill with a higher price than they may have anticipated because they did not have knowledge that the provider or facility was out-of-network. The purpose of this article is to note certain requirements that compliance employees will need to be aware of at their facilities, including notice and consent, good faith estimates, and public disclosures.Client Alert

No Surprises Act and You (Published in the SCMS Winter 2022 Newsletter)

March 3, 2022Legislation has been adopted by the United States Congress and the Ohio Legislature known as the “No Surprises Act” which attempts to regulate billing by professionals and facilities to patients who are not in networks with those facilities or providers at those facilities. The federal bill was triggered by some sensational news stories of patients being billed for tens of thousands of dollars for emergency care when the hospital was out of the network under the patient’s insurance plans.
Older posts
Newer posts