HHS Office for Civil Rights Director Melanie Fontes Rainer on Progress and News at OCR
ERISA Blog | Changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rules A Primer for Self-Insured Group Health Plans
Podcast - Data Privacy and Tracking Technology Compliance
Patient Data and Privacy
2022 DSIR Deeper Dive: OCR’s Right of Access Initiative
HIPAA Tips With Williams Mullen - Telehealth After the Pandemic
Relaxed HIPAA Restrictions For Providers Using Telehealth
Webinar: Investigating and Resolving Sexual Assaults on Campus
When Jerry Menikoff retired at the end of 2022 after leading the HHS Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) for 14 years, he left behind an agency limping along with 20 employees, less than half of what it needed. For...more
In December 2024, the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (“ASTP/ONC”) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) published two...more
Access to quality healthcare services has long been a priority of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and through its Office for Civil Rights (OCR) this agency has, since at least 2001, sought to provide...more
President Ronald Reagan famously quipped, "I think you all know that I've always felt that the nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the Government, and I'm here to help."1 At an Oct. 23-24, 2024,...more
As the life sciences, medtech, and diagnostic industries continue to expand and grow increasingly complex, so does the legal, regulatory, and compliance landscape....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: New regulations effective August 6, 2024 restore and expand scope of civil rights protections under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act....more
On February 14, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) published a new, final version of their guidance for...more
The Association of American Universities (AAU) and the Council on Governmental Relations (COGR) are among a handful of groups “urging the Biden administration to rescind a policy proposal that would threaten the American...more
The healthcare sector is particularly vulnerable to cybersecurity risks and the stakes for patient care and safety are particularly high. Healthcare facilities are attractive targets for cyber criminals in light of their...more
On April 17, 2023, the Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to modify the Standards for Privacy for Individually Identifiable...more
Introduction - Following the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturning Roe v. Wade, the federal government, pursuant to President Biden’s Executive Order (the EO) took several steps...more
On April 12, 2023, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking detailing its proposal to modify the HIPAA Privacy Rule (Proposed Rule). The...more
On April 12, 2023, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“Notice” or “NPRM”) to solicit comments on proposed modifications to the HIPAA...more
The Biden Administration announced that the federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) will expire at the end of the day on May 11, 2023. As we draw closer to the expiration date of the PHE, do you feel fine about your...more
On December 29, 2022, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) proposed the rule, “Safeguarding the Rights of Conscience as Protected by Federal Statutes” (the “Proposed Rule”)....more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) entered into a Voluntary Resolution Agreement (“Agreement”) with CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs (“CHI”) to ensure there are effective communication...more
On September 26, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report titled “Medicare Telehealth: Actions Needed to Strengthen Oversight and Help Providers Educate Patients on Privacy and Security Risks.”.....more
The ripple effect from the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization has prompted the federal Office of Health and Human Services (HHS) to reinforce core principles of privacy compliance. HHS...more
On July 25, 2022, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released a long-awaited proposed rule on Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the nondiscrimination protections...more
On June 24, 2022, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization,1 opening a legal path to state laws restricting or prohibiting access to certain reproductive health...more
On July 8, President Biden signed an executive order for abortion access. In this order, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) pledged to take steps to ensure that all patients have access to the full rights...more
The US Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization has raised many questions about potential efforts by law enforcement agencies to obtain data from healthcare and...more
On January 5, 2022, we discussed the Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2023 proposed rule released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). On April 28, 2022, CMS issued the NBPP 2023 Final Rule. CMS...more
Will-They-Won’t-They Saga Continues: As we noted, about two weeks ago, more centrist democrats in the House pushed the speaker into a promise to hold a vote on the bi-partisan infrastructure bill passed by the Senate on...more
As part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Section 1557 is a multilayered approach to prohibit discrimination based on color, national origin, sex, age, and disability in health programs or “activities that receive federal...more