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On April 27, 2023, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed into law House Bill 1155, otherwise known as the My Health My Data Act.  Certain “geofencing” portions of the law became effective July 23, 2023.  Other provisions will become effective for “small businesses” on June 30, 2024, and for all other regulated entities on March 31, 2024. Below is a brief summary of the law’s following core components: (1) covered individuals and entities, (2) covered data, and (3) data collection and sharing requirements.Continue Reading Implementation Underway for Washington’s New Wide-Reaching Consumer Health Data Law

Following closely after the clarifying independent dispute resolution process Final Rule, the four executive branch entities tasked with implementing the provisions of the No Surprises Act, the Office of Personnel Management, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Employee Benefits Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service have issued a request for information to help the agencies craft the next stage of regulations for the surprise billing law.

The request is the latest effort by agencies to seek stakeholder input on the contours of the regulations implementing the No Surprises Act, this time with a focus on the requirements in the law for providers to issue a good faith estimate (GFE) to plans for services that their covered patients will submit for reimbursement and for insurers to issue an advanced explanation of benefits (AEOB) to their plan participants based on estimated charges relayed to them by providers.

Specifically, the entities are looking for information and recommendations on the process of transferring data from providers and facilities to plans, issuers and carriers to facilitate the GFE and AEOB processes, as well as the economic impacts of implementing these requirements. The notice was added to the Federal Register on Friday, Sept. 16 and comments are due to the agencies by November 15.Continue Reading Agencies Look for Input on No Surprises Act Good Faith Estimate Rules

Earlier this year, President Obama launched a high-profile “Precision Medicine Initiative” (PMI) to develop treatments, diagnostics, and prevention strategies tailored to the individual genetic characteristics of each patient.  On July 8, 2015 the White House released for public comment a draft document entitled “Precision Medicine Initiative: Proposed Privacy and Trust Principles,” which provides broad guidance…

Two more health care companies have settled potential violations of the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules arising from the theft of unencrypted laptops by paying a total of almost $2 million and agreeing to continued oversight by the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR). In both instances, the breaches were self-reported and the settlements resulted…

Congress continues to examine issues associated with enrollment in qualified health plans under Healthcare.gov.  For instance:

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The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) is inviting comments on a governance mechanism for the nationwide health information network under the HITECH Act. ONC seeks input on a range of topics, including: creation of a voluntary program under which entities that facilitate electronic health information exchange could be validated…

On October 13, 2010, the HHS Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) published an interim final rule with request for comment to remove the implementation specifications related to public health surveillance from regulations established by the Standards and Certification Criteria Final Rule. Comments will be accepted until November 12, 2010. In addition…

The HHS Office for Civil Rights and the National Institute of Standards and Technology’ (NIST) Computer Security Division are hosting a conference May 11 and 12, 2010 entitled “Safeguarding Health Information: Building Assurance through HIPAA Security.” The conference will provide a forum to discuss the current health information technology security landscape, as well as practical…

On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed into law H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the “ARRA”). The sweeping $790 billion economic stimulus package includes a number of health care policy provisions. Reed Smith’s Health Care Memorandum summarizes the major health policy provisions of the Act.
Continue Reading American Recovery and Reinvestment Act — Health Information Privacy/Incentives, Medicaid Funding & Other Health Provisions