Revisions to preventive care and screening guidelines will require health plans and health insurance policies to provide 100 percent coverage for additional services for women, adolescents, children, and infants, following an...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released guidance to address how the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule applies to various entities’ requests for information...more
The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has continued its enforcement of HIPAA’s privacy and security rules in the new administration, announcing a number of settlements of...more
Summary -
The U.S. Departments of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services, along with the federal Office of Personnel Management have issued interim final regulation under the No Surprises Act aimed at...more
Summary -
Federal agencies will enforce Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The announcement reverses an effort under the previous...more
The new year began with an unusual amount of activity related to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Health care providers, health plans, health care clearinghouses, and business associates...more
On December 18, 2020, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) issued guidance specific to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) and...more
Following a very quiet start to HIPAA settlement activity in 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently announced eight settlements with covered entities and business...more
The Office of Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has issued guidance clarifying how HIPAA’s Privacy Rule permits covered entities (in particular, health care providers and health plans) or their...more
8/28/2020
/ Business Associates ,
Covered Entities ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Privacy Rule ,
OCR ,
PHI
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York blocked federal rules seeking to remove nondiscrimination protections for health care patients. The blocked rules would have removed protections against...more
8/21/2020
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Gender Identity ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare Reform ,
New Rules ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Sexual Stereotyping ,
Title IX ,
Title VII
In Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home v. Pennsylvania, the Supreme Court this week upheld regulations issued by the U.S. Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services (the Departments) that...more
7/13/2020
/ Administrative Authority ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Appeals ,
Contraceptive Coverage Mandate ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employer Rights ,
HRSA ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home v Pennsylvania ,
Religious Exemption ,
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Trump v Pennsylvania ,
U.S. Treasury
The U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury have jointly published a set of frequently asked questions that offer guidance on a number of benefits issues related to the expansion of coverage...more
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has finalized rules that narrow and eliminate various nondiscrimination requirements under Section 1557 of the...more
On March 20, 2020, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued guidance in furtherance of its Notification of Enforcement Discretion for Telehealth Remote Communications During the COVID-19 Nationwide Public Health Emergency. ...more
The Office of Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, issued an update to its February bulletin, which outlined how the HIPAA privacy rules apply in a state of emergency....more
Federal executive agencies recently published two rules, one final and one proposed, aimed at publicizing the various costs associated with health care. A final rule, promulgated by the Department of Health and Human Services...more
12/4/2019
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Comment Period ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Final Rules ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Hospitals ,
Medical Expenses ,
Medical Loss Ratio ,
MLR Rebate ,
Out of Network Provider ,
Price Transparency ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Surprise Medical Bills ,
Trump Administration
With all of the attention on Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requirements to safeguard the privacy and security of a patient’s health information, covered entities sometimes overlook the HIPAA...more
9/12/2019
/ Corrective Actions ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Privacy Rule ,
Hospitals ,
Medical Records ,
OCR ,
Patient Rights ,
Right-To-Access ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Statutory Violations
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released proposed regulations that, if finalized, will significantly narrow the scope of the nondiscrimination requirements under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care...more
6/6/2019
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Financial Assistance Policies ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
Proposed Rules ,
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) ,
Section 1557
The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that it has entered into a settlement with a business associate that provides electronic medical records services to health...more
6/5/2019
/ Business Associates ,
Corrective Actions ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Electronic Medical Records ,
Hackers ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare Reform ,
HIPAA Breach ,
OCR ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Security Standards ,
Settlement Agreements
On May 6, 2019, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced an agreement with Touchstone Medical Imaging, LLC (Touchstone)...more
5/8/2019
/ Corrective Actions ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Electronic Medical Records ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Breach ,
OCR ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
PHI ,
Security Rule ,
Security Standards ,
Settlement Agreements
The Department of Health and Human Services has announced that it is lowering the maximum amount it will assess for most types of HIPAA violations. Although the change is couched as an exercise of discretion, HHS states that...more
5/6/2019
/ Business Associates ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Covered Entities ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HITECH Act ,
OCR ,
PHI ,
Regulatory Violations
The Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services has announced settlements with three different Boston-area hospitals for allegedly compromising the privacy of protected health information by inviting...more
9/25/2018
/ Data Breach ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Entertainment Industry ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
HIPAA Breach ,
Hospitals ,
OCR ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
PHI ,
Settlement ,
Television Programming
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has finalized regulations designed to help stabilize the individual and small group health insurance markets and, in particular, the health insurance exchanges...more
Changes are imminent for the Affordable Care Act and a range of other laws and regulations affecting the health care industry. Ballard Spahr attorneys established a Health Care Reform Initiative in 2008 to monitor and analyze...more
1/20/2017
/ AARP ,
Abortion ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Age Discrimination ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Birth Control ,
Claim Procedures ,
COBRA ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disability Benefits ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Discrimination ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Form 1094 ,
Form 1095 ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
HRA ,
IRS ,
National Origin Discrimination ,
Public Health Insurance Marketplace ,
Religious Exemption ,
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Section 1557 ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title IX ,
Trump Administration ,
Wellness Programs ,
Women's Preventable Healthcare Mandates
The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has posted an alert (and a follow-up alert) warning health plans, health care providers, and their vendors of a mock communication...more
12/1/2016
/ Cybersecurity ,
Data Security ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Electronic Medical Records ,
Email ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
HIPAA Audits ,
OCR ,
PHI ,
Phishing Scams