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On Monday, April 12, 2023, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to modify the HIPAA Privacy Rule to address the release of reproductive health care information to third parties for the purposes of civil, administrative, or criminal proceedings for care that is lawfully obtained.

OCR has also released a fact sheet on this NPRM. The NPRM included: (1) the addition of new protections with respect to certain information related to reproductive health care; (2) a new obligation for regulated entities to obtain “attestations” (which are different from HIPAA’s traditional authorization) before responding to requests for certain PHI related to reproductive health care; and (3) the modification of the definition of “person,” and the addition of several new definitions.Continue Reading Proposed changes to HIPAA highlight increased demands for third party access to reproductive health data

On March 24, 2023, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) issued an advisory opinion in response to a proposal by a laboratory test kit company to provide prepaid gift cards to individuals, including federal health care program beneficiaries, to encourage use of its colorectal cancer screening test. The company specifically requested the opinion to determine whether the proposed gift card arrangement would constitute grounds for sanctions under federal Anti-Kickback Statute (“AKS”) and other sections of the Social Security Act. The OIG concluded that while proposed arrangement would generate prohibited remuneration under the AKS if the requisite intent were present, it would not impose administrative sanctions if the company implemented the gift card arrangement.

The company’s parent entity manufactures a non-invasive colorectal cancer screening test that has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The screening test is covered by Medicare Part B every three years for beneficiaries aged 45 and older, if the beneficiary meets certain criteria. It may be ordered for a patient only by a health care provider with prescribing authority. After an order is placed, the company ships its sample collection kit directly to a patient’s home. The patient then collects a stool sample and ships it back to the company in a prepaid, preaddressed package. The sample is subsequently analyzed by a laboratory for presence of colorectal cancer or other indicators of disease.Continue Reading OIG approves lab company’s gift card proposal for colorectal cancer screening kits