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
On June 4, 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the appointment of Paula M. Stannard as the Director of the Office for Civil Rights (OCR). As Director, Stannard will lead the enforcement of...more
As we noted in our previous blog here, on January 6, 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposing substantial revisions...more
In the final days of the Biden Administration, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to modify the Security Rule under the Health...more
Recently, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to update the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Security Rule—the...more
In early January, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. The Proposed Rule would modify the Security Standards for the Protection of...more
On December 27, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to amend the Security Standards for the Protection of...more
On December 27, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through its Office for Civil Rights (OCR), issued proposed changes to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)...more
On January 6, 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“DHHS”) Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”) published a proposed rule entitled, “HIPAA Security Rule to Strengthen the Cybersecurity of Electronic Health...more
§ 160.101 Statutory basis and purpose. The requirements of this subchapter implement sections 1171–1180 of the Social Security Act (the Act), sections 262 and 264 of Public Law 104–191, section 105 of Public Law 110–233,...more
For more than 20 years, the HIPAA Security Rule has been virtually unchanged other than extending its scope beyond covered entities to also include business associates. During that time, technology has changed, cybersecurity...more
On January 6, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) published significant proposed amendments (proposed rule) to the Security Rule under the Health Insurance Portability and...more
Last fall at the Safeguarding Health Information: Building Assurance Through HIPAA Security 2024 conference, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) promised that before year’s end, it would...more
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has proposed significant modifications to the HIPAA Security Rule and the HITECH Act in an attempt to strengthen cybersecurity protections for electronic protected health...more
On August 29, 2024, the Office for Civil Rights of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS-OCR”) withdrew its appeal of an order by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas’...more
This Week in Washington: House appropriators release FY2025 topline appropriations levels; Senate Finance Committee releases white paper on Medicare physician payment reforms; House Energy and Commerce Committee Subcommittee...more
For the first time in nearly 50 years, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has finalized revisions to regulations implementing Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973,...more
This Week in Washington: House Ways and Means Committee marks up telehealth legislation; CMS extends state Medicaid unwinding flexibilities; Senate HELP Committee ranking member releases white paper outlining possible NIH...more
Preventing discrimination and bias in connection with the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in health care are among the principal current focuses of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and were included in...more
This Week in Washington: Congress passes six appropriations bills including skinny health package; House Ways and Means Committee reports bill to block CMS nursing home minimum staffing levels requirement; HHS requests...more
This Week in Washington: House Energy and Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Health holds hearing on a range of legislation concerning public health programs, patient wellbeing and caregiver support; HHS and FTC request...more
This Week in Washington: Senate Finance Committee holds hearing on AI use in healthcare; CMS makes corrections to 2024 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment Rates; House passes ban on QALYs....more
The HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) on Sept. 7 announced a proposed rule to bar discrimination based on disability.[1] “The rule, Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in Programs or Activities Receiving Federal...more
This Week in Washington: Senate Finance Committee chairman sends letters concerning MA marketing practices; Senate Committee on Aging holds hearing on assisted living facilities; CMS requests information on MA prior...more
This Week in Washington: House Speaker and Senate Majority Leader reach topline appropriations deal; OCR releases final rule on conscience rights; Senate HELP Committee Democrats launch investigation into cost of asthma...more
The Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS") has released a concept paper outlining its new cybersecurity strategies for the health care sector, identifying cybersecurity priorities, potential future regulations and...more