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Business Associates › Data Protection › Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

Business Associates can refer broadly to individuals engaged in business relationships with one another. However, in the HIPAA context, the term has a specific statutory meaning and those characterized as... more +
Business Associates can refer broadly to individuals engaged in business relationships with one another. However, in the HIPAA context, the term has a specific statutory meaning and those characterized as business associates have expanded data protection obligations and duties. Essentially, a business associate under HIPAA is a person or entity that performs certain functions or services which necessitates exposure to protected health information on behalf of a covered entity. Typical business associate functions include: claims processing or administration, data analysis, billing, etc.    less -
Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA)

‘I Will Not Rest’; ‘I Am All In’: Remarkable Breach Hearing Sees Pledges by UHG CEO, Sen. Wyden

Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA) on

United Healthcare Group (UHG) CEO Andrew Witty was in a board meeting on Feb. 21 when officials interrupted with the news that Change Healthcare—a clearinghouse UHG subsidiary Optum had purchased for $1.3 billion in October...more

Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA)

Privacy Briefs: May 2024

Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA) on

Kaiser Permanente is notifying 13.4 million current and former members that their personal information may have been compromised when it was transmitted to tech giants Google, Microsoft Bing and X (formerly Twitter) when...more

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

OCR at HHS Updates Guidance on Use of Online Tracking Technology by HIPAA-Regulated Entities

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On March 18, 2024, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) updated its guidance on the use of online tracking technology by covered entities regulated by the Health...more

Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP

OCR Updates Guidance on Use of Online Tracking Technologies by HIPAA Covered Entities and Business Associates

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On March 18, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) updated its guidance on the use of online tracking technologies by covered entities and business associates (regulated...more

Hogan Lovells

Updated OCR guidance does not solve HIPAA’s tracker uncertainty

Hogan Lovells on

The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) updated its guidance concerning compliance obligations for HIPAA covered entities and business associates using online tracking...more

Brooks Pierce

Business Associate Victim of Ransomware Attack Pays $100,000 to HHS OCR

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Is your organization a business associate? You could be subject to enforcement action if you fail to protect health information within your control from ransomware attacks. In October, for the first time, the U.S....more

McGuireWoods LLP

HIPAA Privacy Rule Changes Coming in 2023: Five Steps to Prepare

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In 2023, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is expected to finalize proposed modifications to its regulations under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as modified by the Health...more

Locke Lord LLP

Office of Civil Rights Guidance on Recognized Security Practices Under the 2021 HITECH ‎Act Amendment

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Last year, Congress enacted an amendment to the HITECH Act in January 2021 (“HITECH Amendment”) to require that the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) consider whether a covered entity or business associate has...more

Goodwin

The Potential Impact of State Abortion Laws on Reproductive Health Apps

Goodwin on

Millions of women use reproductive health applications (or “apps”) to track menstrual cycles, ovulation, and pregnancy. These apps provide women that use the rhythm method for birth control and women seeking to become...more

Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA)

OCR: Current Fines Too Low to Spur Compliance; Agency Also Seeks Funding Boost, Injunctive Relief

Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA) on

Report on Patient Privacy 22, no. 5 (May, 2022) - Compared to other agencies, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is a little fish in the big federal pond, but it has an outsize effect on HIPAA covered entities (CEs) and...more

Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA)

2022 Outlook: More Dangerous Ransomware Coupled With Inadequate Security Practices

Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA) on

Report on Patient Privacy 22, no. 1 (January, 2022) - As the COVID-19 pandemic enters its third year, real “security fatigue” with pandemic-related issues will combine with cybercriminals’ increasingly sophisticated...more

Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA)

After a Breach Is Too Late: Ensure BA, Subcontractor Compliance Now

Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA) on

Report on Patient Privacy 21, no. 3 (March 2021) - Sometime during the fall, a worker for a subcontractor of Humana Inc. decided to share actual member information from medical records via a Google document with people he...more

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Pending Proposed Rule Would Make Far-Reaching Changes to HIPAA Privacy Regime

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP on

On January 21, 2020, the far-reaching HIPAA Privacy Proposed Rule, initially released on December 10, 2020, was published in the Federal Register. Despite speculation that the publication timeline would be altered when the...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

HHS Issues HIPAA Guidance on Contacting Survivors of COVID-19 About Plasma Donation

Ballard Spahr LLP on

The Office of Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has issued guidance clarifying how HIPAA’s Privacy Rule permits covered entities (in particular, health care providers and health plans) or their...more

White & Case LLP

COVID-19 and Data Protection Compliance in the US

White & Case LLP on

Irrespective of your industry, the current COVID-19 pandemic poses a new and unique challenge to organizations, their employees, and their customers. The emergence of COVID-19 has prompted organizations to collect and process...more

Saul Ewing LLP

Solo Practitioner Agrees to $100,000 Settlement for HIPAA Security Rule Violations

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On March 3, 2020, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a $100,000 settlement and corrective action plan with Steven A. Porter, M.D. to resolve potential...more

Holland & Hart - Health Law Blog

Modified HIPAA Rules for Sending Records to Third Parties

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Thanks to a federal judge, the Office for Civil Rights has modified its rules for sending records to third parties. Covered entities are no longer required by HIPAA to send non-electronic protected health information (“PHI”)...more

BakerHostetler

Federal Court Invalidates 2013 HIPAA Omnibus Rule Regulations and HHS Guidance on Fees for Copies of Medical Records

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In what is being seen as a strong rebuke to years of regulatory overreach, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia entered an order on January 23, 2020 that invalidates provisions of the 2013 Omnibus...more

Holland & Hart - Health Law Blog

Business Associates’ Use of Information for Their Own Purposes

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Business associates may want to use a covered entity’s protected health information (“PHI”) for the business associates’ own purposes, e.g., for their own product development, data aggregation, marketing, etc. However, with...more

Miller Canfield

Understanding When Business Associates Are Directly Liable Under HIPAA

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New guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) reaffirms that business associates must have proper HIPAA compliance practices, safeguards and documentation in place...more

Foley & Lardner LLP

OCR Clarifies Direct Liability for Business Associates under HIPAA

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On May 24, 2019, the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a new fact sheet which lists the provisions of the HIPAA Privacy, Security, Breach Notification, and Enforcement Rules (HIPAA)...more

Robinson+Cole Data Privacy + Security Insider

OCR Issues Fact Sheet Listing Circumstances in which Business Associates May Face Direct Liability for HIPAA Violations

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In a development that may – understandably – have been overlooked by many heading into Memorial Day weekend, on May 24, 2019, the Health and Human Service’s (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a Fact Sheet on Direct...more

Saul Ewing LLP

Hacked Business Associate Agrees to Pay $100,000 as Part of HIPAA Settlement

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On May 23, 2019, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR), announced that Medical Informatics Engineering, Inc. (MIE) agreed to pay $100,000 to settle alleged HIPAA violations that...more

Arnall Golden Gregory LLP

HIPAA Compliance for 2019: Enforcement Trends and Lessons Learned from 2018

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After a relatively slow first six months, 2018 turned into an active year for HIPAA enforcement, with the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Civil Rights (OCR) announcing the largest-ever HIPAA...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Company’s Vendor Suffers Breach, No Business Associate Agreement, $500K OCR Settlement

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A Florida staffing agency which provides physicians to hospitals and nursing homes, has agreed to a $500,000 settlement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights. The settlement comes...more

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