Monetary Penalties Research Articles

CIVIL MONETARY PENALTIES GOVERNING ASSISTED LIVING: VARIATION ACROSS AND WITHIN STATES

Abstract State survey agencies are responsible for developing minimum requirements for assisted living (AL) communities, including penalties for noncompliance. Civil monetary penalties are a common measure state enforcement agencies use to incentivize regulatory compliance. We searched state statutes and regulations governing licensed AL communities in August 2022 to identify enforceable civil monetary penalties and used descriptive statistics and content analysis to describe regulatory differences within and between states according to license type. Our findings indicate that 48 of 51 states may enforce financial penalties for noncompliance against assisted living communities, though four of these states have one or more license types without applicable monetary penalties. 13 states had differing policies and possible enforceable amounts by license type, so some AL communities are possibly being charged more than others for the same offense within the same state. We found that states took three different approaches to calculating fees, sometimes using multiple approaches depending on the citation and license type. One or more license types in 36 states imposed per-instance fines, per-day fines in 32 states, and per-resident-per-day fines in 3 states. We describe the current landscape of financial penalty enforcement policies for US assisted living communities as well as its implications for state agencies and providers.

Recognition of a Danish Monetary Penalty in Employment Matters and Public Policy

Abstract The contribution is focused on a recent decision of the Italian Supreme Court, in which it was held that a Danish judgment imposing a monetary sanction (bod) on an employer for the failure to perform its obligations under a collective employment contract can be recognized in Italy under Regulation (EU) No. 1215/2012 (applicable to Denmark via the 2005 EU-Denmark Agreement). The request to refuse recognition had been raised on the assumption that the Danish measure amounted to a condemnation to punitive damages and was thus incompatible with public policy. The Corte di Cassazione came to the opposite conclusion, but the solution reached may cause a mixed reaction. It is regrettable that, notwithstanding the applicability of Regulation (EU) No. 1215/2012, the Italian Supreme Court simply relied on the principles developed in its previous judgment No. 16601/2017 (concerning a judgment of a non-EU court) and did not deem it necessary to request a preliminary ruling from the European Court of Justice (“cjeu”) on the interpretation of the relevant provisions of the mentioned Regulation. In a different vein, it is to be welcomed that the nature of the foreign measure was assessed in accordance with the so-called Engel criteria, developed by the European Court of Human Rights. However, the analysis conducted in the instant case by the Italian Supreme Court, which appeared to overlook some characteristics of the Danish bod, is not completely convincing.

Digital Enforcement Proceedings

One of the directions of digitalization is the introduction of digital enforcement proceedings. The paper analyzes the specifics of digital enforcement proceedings in relation to the previous stage of legal protection — judicial and extrajudicial procedures; the problems of eliminating legal and factual errors made at the stage of confirming the right and the compatibility of the mechanism of restitution with digital enforcement proceedings. The compatibility of the current rules of enforcement proceedings with summary digital enforcement proceedings and the risks of additional budget expenditures associated with an imperfect mechanism for a writ of restitution in digital enforcement proceedings are evaluated. There are three ways to enforce proceedings in which information technologies can be involved: simplified foreclosure on funds, foreclosure on other property, foreclosure on digital assets. It is proved that the summary enforcement proceedings applied to monetary penalties should exclude the possibility of recovery through banks and the employer. Based on the analysis of statistical data, it is demonstrated that most of the penalties will require a transition from digital enforcement proceedings to ordinary enforcement proceedings, therefore, a solution is required to regulate the issues of granting a term for voluntary execution, collection of enforcement fees, seizure of property, etc. In ordinary enforcement proceedings, the use of information technology should be aimed at solving the problem of detecting the property of a non-performing debtor; this requires legislative and technological solutions for cross-analysis of information, a single database of information on debt obligations, available funds, the property of a person and their expenses, combined with a base that provides the possibility of applying typical prohibitions, deprivation of typical benefits and privileges. It is concluded that in order to promote national jurisdiction in cross-border disputes, it is necessary to develop the direction of dispute resolution in relation to digital assets, and specific measures for this development are proposed.

The Auditor’s Responsibility for Noncompliance with Laws and Regulations: A Case of Unauthorized Account Activity at Wells Fargo

ABSTRACT In September 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced an enforcement action against Wells Fargo related to improper sales practices. Following investigations revealing widespread abuse by thousands of employees (e.g., opening deposit and credit accounts without customer consent), Wells Fargo paid civil monetary penalties of $185 million and other substantial punitive fees and fines. This case study uses this real-world example to explore the influence of materiality on the scope of an audit, the auditor’s responsibility for detection and communication of noncompliance with laws and regulations (NOCLAR), and the auditor’s consideration of the control environment in the evaluation of internal controls over financial reporting (ICFR). After completing the case, learners are able to discuss relevant professional standards and recognize the impact of materiality considerations on decisions about financial statement misstatements, NOCLAR, and internal control deficiencies. JEL Classifications: M41; M42.

ІСТОРІОГРАФІЯ ШТРАФУ ЯК ВИДУ ПОКАРАННЯ НЕПОВНОЛІТНІХ У ПЕРІОД ВЕЛИКОГО КНЯЗІВСТВА ЛИТОВСЬКОГО

The author of the article examines the formation of criminal law, through the prism of the historical development of juvenile law, taking into account the punishments of property influence, based on state legal forms, facts and phenomena that are of significant importance and act as a driving force at the stages of the formation of Ukrainian society. The article examines the issue of normative legal support for the formation of criminal law during the period of creation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania as part of the Ukrainian lands, and analyzes its main sources that were active in that period, namely: Court of Prince Casimir IV 1468, Lithuanian statutes 1529, 1566, 1588 yr. It was investigated which criminal penalties of a property nature were in force at that time and which could be applied to juvenile offenders. Persons over the age of 16, both nobles and persons without any status, were subject to criminal liability. It has been established that Casimir’s Court of Justice determined that for theft committed for the first time, the offender was punished with a fine, in case of lack of property, with corporal punishment. The Lithuanian Statute of 1529 contained norms that the punishment for insulting a nobleman was imprisonment, while at that time, insulting a non-nobleman was punishable by a fine. The Lithuanian Statute of 1566, which stipulates that in the event of a criminal offense committed by a nobleman who has not reached the age of 14, he is not held liable for committing the crime, but the damage caused must be removed by parents or relatives from part of his estate , in case of lack of funds, the minor nobleman must be surrendered. In turn, in the Lithuanian Statute of 1588, there were such types of property punishments as a fine for theft, as well as punishment in the form of monetary penalties (holovshchyna), “if a person of simple rank killed another person of simple rank. Key words: capital punishment, rape, imposition, confiscation of property, minor, adult, property penalties, judge, statute, fine.

The reputational costs of corporate environmental underperformance: evidence from China

AbstractThis study evaluates the relative importance of regulative and reputational pressures on corporate environmental performance by exploiting a novel research setting in China, where the financial penalties for corporate environmental wrongdoing are small. Despite the small monetary penalties, we still document a surprisingly strong negative stock price reaction to the news of corporate environmental violations. Additionally, we show that the negative stock market reaction weakens in firms with strong voluntary environmental commitment. But the effect of voluntary environmental commitment is less pronounced in state‐ or foreign‐owned firms. Our study yields important managerial implications: our findings reveal considerable reputational losses associated with environmental misconducts and demonstrate the benefit of voluntary environmental commitment in upholding corporate reputation and helping firms recover during unfavorable environmental crises.

무고죄의 법정형 강화방안에 대한 검토

For the reason that it is difficult to admit inner side of a criminal offender as evidence and it is not easy to sentence the accused in prison in confessed cases as it is needed to reduce the sentence as necessary in case the accused makes confession in false accusation, the fact remains that sentence against false accusation has been standardized so far. Eventually, to restrain indiscriminate accusation·complaint and promote proper exercise of state penal power, it is necessary to extend application scope of false accusation and strengthen punishment, but it is also necessary to place strict restrictions on application scope of false accusation to prevent unwarranted invasion by guaranteeing rights of victims of crime to file a suit·complaint still exists. As various improvement plans for overcoming the above circumstances, it is time to examine plans to increase statutory punishment on the criminal law against false accusation in all cases against brutal crimes such as homicide·robbery·rape etc., punish respective crime such as false accusation with sentence on the existing National Security Law, delete monetary penalty as an optional punishment from the statutory punishment against false accusation and establish mandatory minimums considering that false accusation about crimes regulated by the Act on Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes is to be sentenced to more than three years in prison as compared to general criminal law. Meanwhile, due to the high degree of social blame against suspect sexual assault cases, victims of false accusation of sexual assault have fears of encountering more serious damage comparing to the victims of general false accusation cases. Despite a person getting false charge did nothing of the kind, it is true that people around him or her look on the person with prejudiced eyes as if he or she did something deserve criminal punishment or disciplinary action. Keeping victims of sexual violence from being falsely charged is important, of course, but protecting suspects charged without sexual violence is urgently needed as well. Thus, examining whether to establish a special clause such as punishing severely as compared to other false accusation is considered necessary considering characteristics of false accusation about sexual crimes if suspicion of false accusation is substantiated. Based on the critical mind, this manuscript aims to arouse caution against false accusation through severe punishment against offenders hindering judicial order, and seek individualization of treatment that reflects individual characteristics of false accusers.

Global Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Terrorism Financing Regulatory Framework: A Critique

Money launderers prefer to use financial services as the ideal medium for laundering. This study aimed to provide an overview of the global AML/CFT regulations, application and how they should evolve in this dynamic environment. To gather more insight, a qualitative study was undertaken with relevant documents analysed. The main finding was that country implementation of the global AML/CFT regulations differed due to political and economic factors, amongst others. While the various AML/CFT enforcements done by sampled countries were mainly cease and desist orders and monetary penalties that were publicised, the drawbacks of global AML/CFT regulations centred on the application of these regulations and emerging trends. These include, among other definitions of money laundering, reference to the three stages of money laundering, the link between penalty and violations, technological innovations and regulation paradigm shift, cyber-attacks, and data privacy. This study contributes to the application and growing body of knowledge in that the advent of technology has resulted in better consumer experiences, new payment platforms, products and services. However, these innovations have broadened emerging money laundering risks and risks to the financial system in general. Hence, there is a need to conduct research-based FATF recommendations, as risk is dynamic and not static.

A Quest for Meaning: Interpretation of Article 73(3) of the Law of the Sea Convention by Indonesian Supreme Court

Abstract In the spirit of conserving the balance between the interests of the coastal State and other States in the exclusive economic zone (eez), Article 73(3) of the United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea (unclos) establishes that coastal State penalties for violations of fisheries laws and regulations may not include imprisonment or corporal punishment unless otherwise agreed by the States concerned. As one of the countries suffering from illegal fishing, Indonesia has seen a number of domestic cases challenging the practical application of Article 73(3) due to the failure of several offenders to pay monetary penalties for violating fisheries laws and regulations in Indonesia’s eez. Article 73(3) appears to be the only unclos provision that Indonesian courts have directly applied and interpreted into domestic cases. The debate revolves around whether courts can impose default confinement for fisheries offences in the eez. This article examines how Indonesian courts interpret the meaning and scope of the term ‘imprisonment’ within the ambit of Article 73(3) of unclos, particularly in the context of confinement for fine defaults, and whether international courts or tribunals provide any guidance in this interpretation.

Concise summaries of ten years of application of the criminal procedural law (stage of pre-trial investigation)

The work is devoted to the passage of ten years since the entry into force of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine in November 2012. The purpose of the work is to determine those changes in the legislative regulation of the current institutions of the criminal process, which can be considered as global; a brief study of new institutes. Methods - comparative, statistical. Subjected to the study of the purpose of the implementation of the Criminal Procedure Code of 2012, the main principles of the reform of the procedural law as a component of the judicial reform and the reform of the law enforcement system, the measures that were proposed to be taken to achieve the specified goal. The number of laws amending procedural codes was analyzed. Attention was paid to the implementation of new institutions - in particular, the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations, secret investigative (detective) actions, opening of pre-trial investigation materials, indictments, bringing to criminal liability on the basis of agreements; identified shortcomings of their normative regulation and practical application are given. The indictment is compared with the indictment; the register of pre-trial investigation materials and a certificate on the progress of a criminal case. The institutes of private prosecution during the operation of various procedural laws are compared. Attention was paid to the liquidation of the formal act - the resolution on the initiation of a criminal case; instead, the emergence of a new formal act - an extract from the unified register of pre-trial investigations - was assessed. The liquidation of the institution of additional investigation was noted, but on the contrary, attention was drawn to the court's right to return the indictment to the prosecutor as one that does not meet the requirements of the law. The appearance of new subjects of the process is emphasized - for example, the applicant, the whistleblower, etc.; about the emergence of new mechanisms of procedural coercion - in the form of monetary penalties; on the emergence of new bodies of pre-trial investigation - SBI, NABU; on the emergence of a new judicial institution - the High Anti-Corruption Court. Attention was drawn to the imperfection of changes in the legal regulation of recording the actions and decisions of officials of the prosecution, changes in the regulation of specific investigative actions. Attention was also paid to changes in the law, which were subsequently canceled due to their ineffectiveness. As a conclusion, doubts were expressed about the need to adopt the Criminal Procedure Code in its current version.

Pengaruh Tingkat Penghasilan, Sanksi Denda, NJOP Dan SPPT Terhadap Kepatuhan Wajib Pajak Bumi Dan Bangunan

This study's objective was to investigate the nature of the connection that exists between taxpayer compliance with land and building taxes and demographic factors such income, monetary penalties, NJOP, and SPPT. The sole kind of data that was employed in this investigation was primary data. The population included in this survey is comprised of Candirejo Village inhabitants who have paid land and building taxes. 120 people who lived in Candirejo Village and were obligated to pay land and building taxes made up the population. The procedure known as snowball sampling is used to choose samples. In order to examine the data, multiple linear regression is used. Both income and taxpayer compliance were determined to have a significant value of 0.836, and this value was observed for land and buildings. So, taking into consideration the t values of 2.899, 2.696, and 2.977 respectively, it is possible that NJOP and SPPT have a positive impact on taxpayer compliance with land and building taxes by way of the variable fine sanctions.
 Keywords: Income Level, Fine Sanctions, NJOP, SPPT, Land and Building Taxpayer Compliance.

Constant-round linear-broadcast secure computation with penalties

It is known that Bitcoin enables achieving fairness in secure computation by imposing monetary penalties on adversarial parties. This functionality is called secure computation with penalties. Bentov and Kumaresan (2014) [9] introduced the claim-or-refund functionality that can be implemented via Bitcoin. They achieved secure computation with penalties with O(n) rounds and O(n) broadcasts for any function, where n is the number of parties. After that, Kumaresan and Bentov (2014) [8] showed a constant-round protocol. Unfortunately, this protocol requires O(n2) broadcasts. As far as we know, no protocol achieves O(1) rounds and O(n) broadcasts based on Bitcoin. This work accomplishes such efficiency in secure computation with penalties. We first show a protocol in a slightly relaxed setting called secure computation with non-equivalent penalties. This setting is the same as secure computation with penalties except that every honest party receives more than a predetermined amount of compensation, while the previous one requires that every honest party receives the same amount of compensation. Namely, our setting allows the compensations for honest parties to be non-equivalent. Moreover, we present a technique to remove the non-equivalence of our protocol without sacrificing efficiency. We then propose a new ideal functionality called claim-refund-or-give that can be implemented via Bitcoin.

The NP's role in increasing RVU values.

The NP's role in increasing RVU values.

Technological Advancements and Legal Challenges to Combat Money Laundering: Evidence from Pakistan

The primary objective of this research article is to examine technological advancements and legal challenges to combat crime of money laundering in context of Pakistan. The risk of money laundering, as well as the considerable threat posed by terrorist funding, poses a serious danger to the socioeconomic equilibrium of Pakistan. In today's world, money laundering is a huge financial problem as well as a crime. Billions of dollars are smuggled illegally across international boundaries each year. Laundering ill-gotten gains has developed into a significant issue in the world's financial system, and the authorities are working hard to eliminate it. Technology doesn't always advance positive outcomes. With the advancement of technology, financial crime tactics are becoming more sophisticated. The most common method of money laundering is through financial systems. Therefore, banks are obligated to make use of technology to combat the practise of money laundering. However, technology can help financial institutions such as banks to fight against financial crimes. Any institution that chooses to ignore AML guidelines runs the risk of incurring punishment, such as monetary penalties. Therefore, this paper fills this gap by critically examining the legal challenges faced by financial institutions in Pakistan in their use of technology to combat money laundering. For this research, the qualitative doctrinal research methodology is used that is based on documentary analysis. This research critically analyses the legal challenges faced by financial institutions such as banks in their compliance with anti-money laundering regulations. This paper critically examines the parliamentary statutes, regulations, policies in various domestic jurisdictions and international statutes, treaties, conventions and other existing data relating to technological advancements to combat money laundering.

Parents’ intention to vaccinate their 5- to 11-year-old children with the COVID-19 vaccine: rates, predictors and the role of incentives

IntroductionImmediately after Pfizer announced encouraging effectiveness and safety results from their COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials in 5- to 11-year-old children, this study aimed to assess parents’ perceptions and intention to vaccinate their 5-11-year-old children and to determine socio-demographic, health-related, behavioral factors, as well as the role of incentives.MethodsA cross-sectional online survey of parents of children between 5 and 11 years of age among the Jewish population in Israel (n = 1,012). The survey was carried out between September 23 and October 4, 2021, at a critical time, immediately after Pfizer’s announcement. Two multivariate regressions were performed to determine predictors of parents’ intention to vaccinate their 5-11-year-old children against COVID-19.ResultsOverall, 57% of the participants reported that they intend to vaccinate their 5-11-year-old children against COVID-19 in the winter of 2022. 27% noted that they would vaccinate their 5-11-year-old children immediately; 26% within three months; and 24% within more than three months. Perceived susceptibility, benefits, barriers and cues to action, as well as two incentives - vaccine availability and receiving a “Green Pass” - were all significant predictors. However, Incentives such as monetary rewards or monetary penalties did not increase the probability of parents’ intention to vaccinate their children. Parental concerns centered around the safety of the vaccine, fear of severe side effects, and fear that clinical trials and the authorization process were carried out too quickly.ConclusionThis study provides data on the role of incentives in vaccinating 5-11-year-old children, how soon they intend to do so, and the predictors of those intentions, which is essential knowledge for health policy makers planning vaccination campaigns.

When corporate culture matters: The case of stakeholder violations

This study examines whether and how a strong corporate culture influences stakeholder violations. Using a longitudinal sample of monetary penalties imposed on US-listed firms for stakeholder violations, I find evidence that a strong corporate culture is significantly and negatively associated with such violations. This outcome remains robust to a series of robustness and endogeneity tests, including the application of the generalized method of moments (GMM), entropy balancing, and propensity score matching (PSM) estimation. The channel analysis evidence implies that information asymmetry is a possible mechanism through which a strong corporate culture is associated with stakeholder violations. A cross-sectional analysis demonstrates that the documented association between strong corporate culture and stakeholder violations is stronger for companies with weak external monitoring. Additionally, the negative association between strong corporate culture and stakeholder violations varies across violation types and cultural dimensions. This study contributes to the ongoing discourse on the role of informal corporate governance mechanisms (corporate culture) in mitigating corporate stakeholder violations. Finally, it has important implications for stakeholders, including policymakers, regulators, and practitioners, intending to promote responsible business practices.

ПОДАТКОВІ ВТРАТИ БЮДЖЕТУ ТА ЇХ ВПЛИВ НА РОЗВИТОК НАЦІОНАЛЬНОЇ ЕКОНОМІКИ

The article is devoted to the study of tax debt as a key element of tax losses of the budget and its impact on the development of the national economy. Tax debt is the main component of tax losses, as it contributes to a significant decrease in revenues to the budget of Ukraine, violates confidence in the tax system, increases the financial burden on the population and business, and limits the opportunities for financial development of the country. The concept of «Tax Debt» is considered, which is not only an economic, but also a legal concept that reflects the essence of its interrelated components: an agreed monetary obligation, penalties and penalties. It should also be noted that the definition of tax debt has been legally enshrined in the tax legislation. The dynamics of the volume of tax debt for 2016–2022 is analyzed, highlighting its importance in the structure of budget losses. We would like to note that both objective and subjective factors have a direct impact on the dynamics of tax debt, which has remained at a high level in recent years. The article substantiates the growth of tax debt in 2022 to the amount of UAH 145.0 billion. Compared to previous periods, it is due to the enormous burden on the economy from the imposition of martial law in Ukraine by the Decrees of the President of Ukraine dated 24.02.2022 No. 64/2022 "On the introduction of martial law in Ukraine" (as amended).Particular attention is paid to the system of tax control over the financial condition of the real tax debtor, since the analysis for the period 2017–2022 demonstrates large volumes of write-off of bad tax debt, which indicate the ineffectiveness of tax policy measures and negative consequences for the budget system of the country and the economy as a whole. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of possible ways to improve tax debt management and minimize its impact on the economy. The article aims to identify strategies and tools that can be used to reduce the impact of tax debt on the budget and the national economy as a whole. The aim of the article is to draw attention to the importance of this problem and to help find effective ways to solve it in the interests of sustainable economic development of Ukraine in future periods.

Competition of Legal Norms in the Russian Church from the 10th to 13th Centuries? Tithe and Weregild

The article discusses two key differences between pre-Mongol Rus’ and Byzantium in the field of church legal institutions. The author shows that the introduction of tithes from princely incomes instead of fixed payments for the churches was provoked by the absence of the Greek hierarchy in Russia at the moment of the consecration of the Kiev Tithe Cathedral in 995–996, as well as by only partially monetary nature of the Old Russian economy and the general crisis of the Byzantine model of financial support for the Church. However, it was part of civil legislation and did not contradicted Byzantine canon law. However, the practice of monetary penalties for sins introduced by Yaroslav Vladimirovich directly contradicted not only the canons of the Eastern Church, but also the essence of its law. They were introduced to make it easier for newly baptized Russia to adopt the norms of Christian morality by likening punishments for its violations to monetary penalties for civil crimes, which also distinguished the legal system of Old Rus’ (as well as Northern Europe) from the Greco-Roman one.

Administracyjne kary pieniężne w ustawie o produktach kosmetycznych a dyrektywy wymiaru kary z art. 189d Kodeksu postępowania administracyjnego

Within the legal system applicable in the Republic of Poland, it is the Act on cosmetic products of 4 October 2018 that regulates the supervision and supervisory measures in the market for such products. The domestic scheme of market supervision in respect of cosmetic products involves the competencies of the State Sanitary Inspectorate and the Trade Inspectorate. These bodies have been equipped with supervisory measures in the form of administrative sanctions, the most severe of which are financial administrative penalties imposed on business entities under their administrative criminal liability. The ratio legis of this legislative act is based on the premise that the appropriate level of protection of public interest (consumer health and life protection) may be best achieved through the preventive and repressive character of fines. The article substantiates the claim that effective supervision (which provides an appropriate level of consumer health and life protection) determines that supervisory bodies employ financial administrative penalties in judicial matters only if the directives on the penalty extent are understood correctly. This article constitutes a dogmatic and legal analysis of the statutory premises which determine the extent of financial administrative penalties imposed by supervisory bodies (the so-called ‘directives on the penalty extent’) on entrepreneurs within the cosmetics industry under the scheme stipulated in the Act on cosmetic products of 4 October 2018. The article aims to present how these premises are understood and applied in judicial matters by the State Sanitary Inspectorate and the Trade Inspectorate. It is the correct understanding and application of these premises (directives) for the extent of financial administrative penalties that result in the appropriate behaviour on the part of the entrepreneur during the course of the proceedings. This, in turn, is a direct consequence of the extent and severity of the administrative monetary penalty, as it has a preventive and repressive function.

APA’s Government, Policy, and Advocacy Update (November 2022)

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Government & LegalFull AccessAPA’s Government, Policy, and Advocacy Update (November 2022)Search for more papers by this authorPublished Online:25 Oct 2022https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.pn.2022.11.11.42APA Joins Letter to Senate on Prioritizing TelehealthAlong with dozens of other health care organizations and corporations, APA wrote a letter to Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), urging the Senate to pass a two-year extension of the telehealth flexibilities introduced during the COVID-19 public health emergency, while still pushing to make those flexibilities permanent. The letter notes that the House passed the Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Act (HR 4040) in July, which extends coverage of telehealth services under Medicare until at least 2024. Currently, the flexibilities are due to expire 151 days after the public health emergency ends.“Virtual care is now a fundamental part of the U.S. health care system, and it will improve patient access to high-quality care and strengthen continuity of care well beyond the COVID-19 pandemic,” the letter states. “Telehealth is helping to address the crisis-level mental health, primary care, and other workforce shortages. Many underserved communities that historically have had limited access to care may now beam in additional support for their workforce as well as top specialists to help save lives and treat critically ill patients. Unfortunately, without statutory certainty for remote care, the hard work of building infrastructure, trust, and relationships with these communities is beginning to stall.”Letter to Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) Bill Would Allow Civil Monetary Penalties for MH Parity ViolationsSens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) introduced the Parity Enforcement Act of 2022 (S 4804). The APA-supported bill would allow the Department of Labor to issue civil monetary penalties against insurers and health plans that are not in compliance with the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008.“Giving the Department of Labor the authority to impose civil monetary penalties on health plans and insurers for violating the parity law is a critical next step for improved accountability,” APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, M.D., M.P.A., said in a news release on Murphy’s website. “The Department’s report to Congress earlier this year demonstrated that despite increased transparency, plans and insurers are still falling short of full compliance. We appreciate Senator Murphy’s continued efforts to ensure true mental health parity enforcement.”Murphy, Smith, Luján Introduce Legislation to Give the U.S. Department of Labor Authority to Enforce Mental Health Parity Laws APA Supports Increased Funding and Access to Treatment for Mental, Substance Use DisordersIn comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), APA emphasized the importance of ensuring access to mental and substance use disorder treatments by supporting coverage and appropriate reimbursement for services, such as those provided via telehealth (including audio only). The comments, signed by APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, M.D., M.P.A., were made in response to CMS’s proposed rule on the 2023 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and Quality Payment Program (APA Registers Concerns About Potential Cuts to Medicare Physician Payment). APA Supports Efforts to Expand Access to Care to Rural CommunitiesIn late August, APA responded to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) proposed rule on Conditions of Participation (COP) for Rural Emergency Hospitals (REH) and Critical Access Hospital COP Updates. APA’s letter, signed by APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, M.D., M.P.A., expresses APA’s support for the expansion of health care access in rural communities, while encouraging CMS to further support access to treatment for mental and substance use disorders through these hospitals.Levin highlighted the APA report “The Psychiatric Bed Crisis in the U.S.” in the letter to urge CMS to reconsider an exemption to the 24-hour average length of stay for patients needing inpatient psychiatric care, allowing them to stay in the emergency hospitals until a bed in a facility that most meets the needs of the patient is available. “Putting an artificial average time on patient stay may affect the care the most vulnerable patients are getting, leading to potentially life-threatening decisions,” Levin stated.APA also encouraged the coverage and reimbursement of outpatient treatment services for mental and substance use out of the REH to increase the availability of quality services in rural communities. “There is an opportunity to shore up existing outpatient services and facilitate the implementation of additional services not currently available in the community,” the letter states. ■APA’s letter ISSUES NewArchived