Kevin B. Kroeker

Crowell & Moring LLP

Los Angeles

Regulatory, transactions

Kroeker is the past co-chair of Crowell & Moring's health care group. His clients include DaVita Inc., Molina Healthcare Inc., SCAN Health Plan and others in the industry in the regulatory aspects of mergers and acquisitions and the licensure procedures under the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act.

These days, he and his team are firing off client alerts on the rapid developments surrounding the coronavirus emergency. "We are seeing fundamental changes in our health care system," he said. "Our regulatory system hasn't been known for reacting quickly, but now it has been forced into action. The crisis is a kick start we don't ordinarily get from a regulatory perspective."

A major advance has been in easing rules around the practice of linking doctors and their patients remotely, an emerging growth area known as telehealth or telemedicine. And legislative efforts to curb surprise medical billing are planned for inclusion in the next coronavirus relief bill. Both are intended to limit the spread of Covid-19 by keeping caregivers physically apart from those who are ill and by eliminating a financial barrier to those seeking treatment.

The $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, signed by President Trump on March 27, makes available federal grants, loans and other assistance for small businesses and other affected by the outbreak. It includes additional funding for hospitals and staff and other benefits for individual taxpayers.

"Medicare has not previously paid for telehealth visits," Kroeker said, "now they will. And California regulators are loosening up to allow physicians licensed in other states to provide services in California. I never guessed we'd see that. The regulators may try to go back on those advances when this is over, but I think it is likely that the benefits of these practices will be recognized beyond this epidemic."

Telehealth has an upside for both practitioners and patients, Kroeker said.

"There's an old school attitude that something gets lost if you can't look patients in the eye in person, but I believe it will be seen to be good for patients who live far from their doctors and for our clients as well."

Other changes have come at top speed. "We're seeing hyperactivity in getting new regulations out to the industry, including requiring health plans to provide testing without co-payments. I have never seen so much activity come so fast. Usually these kinds of changes can take a year or longer. Now we lawyers are sitting at home churning out alerts and blog posts about daily updates--dozens daily from our firm alone.

"That's not been the norm in our political environment as it existed before the last few weeks. It shows we can step it up when we have to."

--John Roemer