As federal and state governments struggle to address future healthcare regulation, demand for healthcare that is cheaper, better and faster continues to surge. Every day, new healthcare apps are being developed to respond...more
5/19/2017
/ App Developers ,
Business Associates ,
Covered Entities ,
Data Protection ,
Digital Health ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Medical Records ,
Mobile Health Apps ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
PHI ,
Popular
On May 4, 2017, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the American Health Care Act (AHCA) by a vote of 217 to 213 (with 20 Republicans voting against the bill), sending the AHCA to the Senate. As we have reported in...more
5/12/2017
/ Affordable Care Act ,
American Health Care Act (AHCA) ,
Budget Reconciliation ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Enrollment ,
Essential Health Benefits ,
Health Insurance ,
Political Debates ,
Preexisting Conditions ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Repeal ,
Trump Administration ,
Waivers
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced yet another HIPAA privacy and security settlement involving Protected Health Information (PHI) on a stolen laptop. Although this might be seen as just...more
5/6/2017
/ Business Associates ,
Covered Entities ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Encryption ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Breach ,
Laptop Computers ,
Mobile Devices ,
PHI ,
Settlement ,
Theft
Are you an Applicable Large Employer (ALE) that has received rejected Forms 1095-C from the IRS? If so, you are not alone. ...more
As deliberations over a replacement of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) continue in the U.S. House of Representatives, the fate of the ACA’s Cost-Sharing Reduction subsidies (CSRs) may be at stake. Under the ACA, Marketplace...more
On the last day before the U.S. Congress began its spring recess, the U.S. House of Representatives amended the now consolidated bill H.R. 1628, known as the American Health Care Act (the AHCA). We previously discussed the...more
Although the fate of the Affordable Care Act remains undecided, enforcement of the HIPAA privacy and security regulations by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is ongoing,...more
4/8/2017
/ Business Associates ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Covered Entities ,
Data Breach ,
Data Security ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Privacy Rule ,
OCR ,
Patient Privacy Rights ,
PHI ,
Settlement
The much-anticipated vote by the U.S. House of Representatives on the “American Health Care Act,” also known as “AHCA” or the “Obamacare replacement bill,” was cancelled last week, leaving many to ask “what now?” As noted in...more
3/29/2017
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Mandates ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Individual Mandate ,
Large Employer ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Repeal ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Tax Credits ,
Trump Administration ,
Wellness Programs
The U. S. House of Representatives (the House) proposed two bills to “repeal and replace Obamacare” last week, and while many popular consumer protections under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) look to be...more
3/13/2017
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Cadillac Tax ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Mandates ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Individual Mandate ,
Medicaid ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Repeal ,
Tax Credits ,
Trump Administration
With the filing of a class action complaint in late 2016 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. became the latest large company accused of failing to provide adequate notices as...more
1/19/2017
/ Class Action ,
COBRA ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Fines ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
IRS ,
Notice Requirements ,
Retailers ,
Wal-Mart
During his campaign, President-elect Trump promised to make the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) a priority. Now that the election is over, what should employers expect? We don’t have a crystal ball,...more
11/22/2016
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Cadillac Tax ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Mandates ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
IRS ,
Medicare ,
Obama Administration ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Shared Responsibility Rule ,
Surtax ,
Trump Administration
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently announced the long-awaited launch of Phase 2 of its HIPAA Audit Program (Phase 2 Audits). The Phase 2 Audits will review the policies...more
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has significantly changed the legal landscape for employer-sponsored health plans by adding reporting obligations, benefit mandates, fees, notices and potential penalties for plans that do not...more
The Affordable Care Act added the so-called “Play-or-Pay” mandate or “Employer Shared Responsibility” provisions to the Internal Revenue Code (the Code). Starting in 2015, certain employers, referred to as “applicable large...more
On September 13, 2013 the U.S. Department of the Treasury (IRS), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), collectively referred to herein as the Departments, coordinated...more
Two controversial cases involving same-sex marriage were decided on June 26, 2013 by the United States Supreme Court. ...more
7/4/2013
/ Cafeteria Plans ,
Civil Unions ,
COBRA ,
DOMA ,
Domestic Partnership ,
Due Process ,
Employee Benefits ,
Equal Protection ,
Estate Tax ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
Hollingsworth v Perry ,
Proposition 8 ,
Retirement Plan ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing ,
Surviving Spouse ,
US v Windsor
The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced today that after hearing and considering the concerns of employers about the complexity of compliance with the Play-or-Pay requirements under the Affordable Care Act, it is...more
The Affordable Care Act (the ACA) established the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (the Institute) in order to provide comparative clinical effectiveness research data so that patients, health care providers,...more
Recently, we published a Client Update explaining how the Play-or-Pay mandate, or Employer Shared Responsibility provision, under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) generally works. To summarize, we described how an employer...more
The Affordable Care Act added the so-called “Play or Pay” mandate or “Employer Shared Responsibility” provisions to the Internal Revenue Code (the Code). Starting in 2014, certain employers may be subject to a penalty tax,...more
2/13/2013
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Federal Poverty Line ,
Full-Time Employees ,
Healthcare ,
IRS ,
Minimum Essential Coverage ,
Pay or Play ,
Penalties ,
Safe Harbors ,
Shared Responsibility Rule ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Transition Relief ,
W-2
The Affordable Care Act requires employers to provide written notice of coverage options available through an Exchange (the Exchange Notice) to each employee by March 1, 2013 and to each new employee thereafter on his or her...more
Final implementing regulations for many provisions of the HITECH Act (Health Insurance Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act) were issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently, and appeared...more
1/29/2013
/ Business Associates ,
Compliance ,
Covered Entities ,
Data Breach ,
Enforcement ,
Fundraisers ,
GINA ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Omnibus Rule ,
HITECH Act ,
Marketing ,
Notice Requirements ,
PHI ,
Privacy Policy