The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services filed a Notice of Enforcement Decision on Friday, April 26, 2019, announcing a new system of annual penalty limits for HIPAA violations based on an entity’s level of culpability. The agency revised its previous interpretation of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH … Continue Reading
The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health has approved the following seven bipartisan bills addressing the Medicare Part B program: HR 3245, which would significantly increase various Medicare civil and criminal penalties under sections 1128A and 1128B of the Social Security Act, which sponsors note have not been updated in 20 years. Maximum penalties … Continue Reading
CMS and ONC have posted a fact sheet that details progress HHS has made in promoting the growth of health information technology since the enactment of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH). The fact sheet addresses, among other things, statistics on participation in the Electronic Health Record Incentive Programs and electronic … Continue Reading
In case you missed them, Reed Smith attorneys have recently prepared the following Client Alerts on major regulatory issues: “CMS Physician Payment "Sunshine" Final Rule — Overview and Analysis”; “ACA Affordable Insurance Exchanges and Qualified Health Plans”; and “The HITECH Final Rule: New Privacy/Security Rules of the Road Finally Here.” … Continue Reading
This post was also written by Elizabeth D. O’Brien. On January 25, 2013, the HHS Office for Civil Rights published its long-awaited final rule implementing major changes to the HIPAA Privacy, Security, Breach Notification, and Enforcement Rules mandated by the 2009 Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act). Among other things, the … Continue Reading
The Office for Civil Rights ("OCR") of the Department of Health and Human Services released today the long awaited, and much anticipated, omnibus final rule modifying the HIPAA Privacy, Security, Breach and Enforcement Rules. The final rule, which implements the statutory requirements of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act ("HITECH") and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act ("GINA"), is comprised of four final rules and addresses the July 2010 HITECH proposed rule, the Breach Notification and Enforcement interim final rules, as well as the October 2009 GINA proposed rule (collectively, the "HITECH Final Rule"). Notably, the HITECH Final Rule does not address the May 2011 proposed accounting and access report rule.… Continue Reading
As the year draws to a close, industry is speculating about the release date of the long-awaited Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (“HITECH”) final rule, which is expected to address modifications to the Privacy, Security, Enforcement, and Breach Notification Rules. While the publication date has not yet been announced, it is … Continue Reading
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 … Continue Reading
To implement the HITECH Act’s mandate for the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to perform HIPAA audits, OCR has just announced that it is piloting a program to perform up to 150 audits of covered entities to assess privacy and security compliance. The pilot phase will include an initial 20 audits between November 2011 and … Continue Reading
On July 8, 2010, the HHS released its proposed rule modifying the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Enforcement Rules to implement the privacy, security, and certain enforcement provisions of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The proposed modifications to the HIPAA … Continue Reading
