The United States Department of Health and Human Services is a federal executive department established in 1953, as part of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. The Agency became independent in... more +
The United States Department of Health and Human Services is a federal executive department established in 1953, as part of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. The Agency became independent in 1980 and was renamed The Department of Health and Human Services at that time. HHS is charged with protecting and improving the health of the American population, as well as providing essential services.
The Biggest Changes in HIPAA/HITECH Omnibus Rule & Recommended Action Steps—Ted Kobus
“HIPAA is a valve, not a blockage,” stated HHS OCR Director Leon Rodriguez, at the OCR/NIST 6th Annual Conference on Safeguarding Health Information: Building Assurance through HIPAA Security....more
ABSTRACT - Operational inefficiencies, sub-optimal patient care, financial losses and missing or ineffective sanctions for non-compliance are all potential outcomes that can stem from passive policy and procedure management....more
On January 25, 2013, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published its final rule, which implements the regulatory changes imposed on business associates found in the Health Information Technology for Economic...more
A recently issued government rule may unknowingly create significant liability and legal risk for many technology enterprises. The expanded definition of "business associates" and related interpretations by the Department of...more
The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published a final regulation to further implement section 6113 of the federal health reform law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The March 19, 2013,...more
“If we were supposed to talk more than listen we would have been given two mouths and one ear.” – Mark Twain. Sometimes people do not listen. Mark Twain knew what he was talking about. People like to talk instead of...more
On January 25, 2013, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) of the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) published the long-awaited omnibus final regulation governing health data privacy, security and enforcement (Omnibus...more
Last year was another busy year in health care fraud enforcement. In 2012, the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS-OIG) reported total expected recoveries of $6.9 billion from all...more
As discussed in two prior HIPAA alerts, a final, 563-page Omnibus HIPAA Rule was released by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights to strengthen HIPAA’s security and privacy protections. The final...more
To paraphrase a famous quote, "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it," and providers who ignore the significance of the federal government's healthcare fraud enforcements efforts in 2012 do so at their...more
Originally posted in Hartford Business Journal on February 11th, 2013. Attention all medical providers, hospitals and any other covered entity or business associate under HIPAA. On Jan. 17, the U.S. Department of Health...more
On January 25, 2013, the Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS") published the Final Rule to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ("HIPAA")'s Data Security and Privacy Rules. The Final Rule...more
There is a lot of confusion among providers caused by therecent publication of new rules under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”). On January 25, 2013, the HIPAA final omnibus rule...more
In This Issue: - Expansion of, Clarifications to, and Explicit Inclusions in the Definition of BA - BAs’ Direct Liability Under the Final Rule - BAAs: Required Provisions Under the Final Rule and the Compliance...more
Changes to the HIPAA Enforcement Rule - Background: On October 30, 2009, HHS issued an interim final rule revising the Enforcement Rule to incorporate provisions of the HITECH Act. The NPRM then proposed a number of...more
If your company is subject to HIPAA, new rules published by the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) will require changes in your policies and practices regarding data breaches....more
In This Issue: - Brief Overview of Key Modifications in the Final Rule - Suggested Action Items for Compliance with the Final Rule ..Covered Entities ..Business Associates - Consequences of Noncompliance...more
Federal prosecutors recently announced a $12.6 million False Claims Act (FCA) settlement with a major New Jersey health system to resolve allegations that the system paid outside physicians in order to increase referrals....more
More than two-and-a-half years after issuing proposed regulations under the Health Information Technology for Economical and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, on January 17, 2013, HHS released a series of final changes to its...more
On March 23, 2013, it will have been three years since President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) into law. This date is a significant one for the nursing home industry, not because it marks...more
The HIPAA Omnibus Regulation was publicly distributed by HHS last week with today, January 25, being the official publication date. The requirements are effective as of March 26, 2013 with a compliance deadline for almost...more
On Thursday, January 17, 2013, the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (“HHS”) released in pre-publication form the rule commonly known as the “HIPAA Omnibus Rule,” which we refer to below as the...more
On January 17, 2013, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the release of the HIPAA final omnibus rule, which was years in the making. The final rule makes sweeping changes to the HIPAA compliance...more
On January 17, 2013, the Department of Health and Human Services released the highly anticipated, 563 page, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ("HIPAA") regulations (the "Final Rule") that have been delayed...more
The HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) started 2013 with a bang by announcing that it had reached "the first settlement involving a breach of unprotected electronic protected health information (ePHI) affecting fewer than 500...more
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