HHS recently announced that it fined a dermatology practice $150,000 for failing to reasonably safeguard an unencrypted thumb drive and failing to conduct an accurate and thorough risk analysis of electronic PHI....more
On Friday, the Department of Treasury announced on its blog that it intends to provide an exemption to the employer penalty provisions for volunteer firefighters and emergency services personnel. According to its blog post,...more
November, a federal district court granted partial summary judgment for the Department of Justice in U.S. ex. Rel. Baklid-Kunz v. Halifax Medical Center, ruling that productivity bonuses paid to employed physicians violated...more
This morning the Department of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Treasury Department released additional Frequently Asked Questions relating to implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Among the topics discussed...more
Last week the US Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued final rules implementing the Mental Health Parity & Addiction Equity Act of 2008. These rules replace interim rules published by the DOL in February 2010. ...more
Affinity Health Plan has agreed to pay more than $1.2 million to settle potential violations of the HIPAA Privacy and Security Regulations....more
Tuesday evening the Treasury Department announced that it would delay enforcement of the employer shared responsibility penalty provisions, often referred to as “Play or Pay”, until 2015....more
Earlier this week the IRS released the updated Form 720 which plan sponsors and third party administrators must utilize when reporting the Patient Centered Outcome Research Fee....more
You may have woken up today to media reports of large employers exploring the idea of dropping traditional health plans in favor of very limited health care plans as a way to lessen the burden imposed on large employers for...more
Today the Department of Labor released guidance and model notices for employers to use when informing employees of the availability of health insurance on the statewide exchange....more
In 2014 non-grandfathered plans will not be allowed to have an out of pocket maximum greater than that allowed for high deductible health plans....more
Last Friday the IRS released additional proposed regulations implementing the minimum value requirement for coverage sponsored by employers with 50 or more FTEs. The proposed rules provide that amounts contributed by...more
The Office of Civil Rights for Health and Human Services is launching a nationwide review of the language access policies of critical access hospitals following a 10 state review in 2012. These reviews will include an...more
Earlier this week the Agencies issued a revised Summary of Benefits & Coverage (“SBC”) template for use in describing health plan coverage that begins on or after January 1, 2014 and before January 1, 2015. ...more
Last month HHS proposed regulations that would delay implementation of the employee choice requirement in SHOP Exchanges until 2015. We’ve received a number of calls asking what the delay means....more
Yesterday the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a special fraud alert addressing physician ownership in entities that derive revenue from implantable medical devices. While such arrangements are not per se...more
Yesterday HHS, IRS, and DOL published proposed regulations implementing the waiting period restrictions of the Affordable Care Act. As expected, health plans may not impose a waiting period that is longer than 90 days from...more
Today federal regulators released additional guidance on the Affordable Care Act’s preventative care requirements for non-grandfathered plans, including additional information on contraceptive coverage.
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A small non-profit hospice in Idaho agreed to pay $50,000 to settle allegations that it violated the HIPAA security regulations. The allegations stemmed from a report made to HHS by the hospice after a laptop containing...more
Today HHS released proposed rules outlining how religious organizations that object to contraception on religious grounds can comply with the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that non-grandfathered health plans cover...more
Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the long-awaited final rules implementing changes to the HIPAA privacy and security rules enacted in 2009 by the HITECH Act....more
Late last week the IRS released proposed regulations implementing the employer “play or pay” provisions in the Affordable Care Act. The rules are applicable to employers with 50 or more full-time equivalents and outline the...more
On Friday Governor Branstad announced Iowa will pursue a State-Federal Partnership Exchange model. The partnership model gives states the ability to partner with the Federal government to assist it in establishing and...more