Category: Uncategorized

May 24, 2019 The HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has issued a new fact sheet that provides a clear compilation of all provisions through which a business associate can be held directly liable for compliance with certain requirements of the HIPAA Privacy, Security, Breach Notification, and Enforcement Rules (“HIPAA Rules”), in accordance with the […]

May 23, 2019 Medical Informatics Engineering, Inc. (MIE) has paid $100,000 to the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and has agreed take corrective action to settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy and Security Rules. MIE is an Indiana company […]

May 22, 2019 02:04 PM SHELBY LIVINGSTON   A coalition of 23 states, cities and municipalities sued HHS on Tuesday to stop its final rule that expands protections for healthcare providers that refuse to perform certain medical tests and procedures because of religious or moral beliefs. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in the Southern […]

SUSANNAH LUTHI     President Donald Trump and White House officials on Thursday threw their weight behind a congressional ban on surprise medical bills based on contract reforms, such as barring hospital contracts with physicians who aren’t in the same insurance networks. “We’re going to hold insurance companies and hospitals totally accountable,” Trump said at an event […]

The new guidance provides greater detail about what prosecutors should look for in compliance programs. By C. Ryan Barber| April 30, 2019 at 05:19 PM The U.S. Justice Department issued new guidance Tuesday detailing how prosecutors will evaluate the effectiveness of corporate programs to prevent fraud and other misconduct, a key consideration in determining the penalties imposed against companies.

CARE DELIVERY SHELBY LIVINGSTON   The CMS finalized a rule on Friday that would give Medicare Advantage plans more flexibility to offer additional telehealth services to seniors as part of their basic benefits package starting in 2020. The rule, proposed in October 2018, allows seniors to use telehealth services in their homes, rather than being required to […]

April 09, 2019 02:00 PM Associated Press Federal authorities said Tuesday they’ve broken up a $1.2 billion Medicare scam that peddled unneeded orthopedic braces to hundreds of thousands of seniors via foreign call centers. The Justice Department announced charges against 24 people across the U.S., including doctors accused of writing bogus prescriptions for unneeded back, […]

April 3, 2019   In 2019, OCR moved to quarterly cybersecurity newsletters.  The purpose of the newsletters remains unchanged: to help HIPAA covered entities and business associates remain in compliance with the HIPAA Security Rule by identifying emerging or prevalent issues, and highlighting best practices to safeguard PHI.     Advanced Persistent Threats and Zero […]

March 27, 2019 08:28 AM UPDATED 8 HOURS AGO Modern Healthcare Centene Corp. on Wednesday said it will buy fellow Medicaid insurer WellCare Health Plans in an estimated $17.3 billion deal. All in all, the two insurers would cover nearly 22 million people in Medicare, Medicaid and the ACA exchanges. Centene CEO Michael Neidorff will serve […]

SHELBY LIVINGSTON   March 22, 2019 04:24 PM Lawmakers and government officials are seeking to ramp up scrutiny over electronic health records. A week after whistleblower allegations against Community Health Systems’ related to its electronic health record implementation were revealed, Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) asked the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology for information on the ONC’s processes […]