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Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Civil Rights Enforcement Actions

Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA)

Recognized Security Practices ‘Saved’ Covered Entity $60K of $300K Fine, But Which Ones Remain a Mystery

Covered entities (CEs) and business associates (BAs) may receive a “discount” for having recognized security practices (RSPs) in place when the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) calculates financial penalties for Security...more

Saul Ewing LLP

No “Trick”: Plastic Surgery Practice Agrees to Pay a $500,000 HIPAA Settlement Following Ransomware Attack

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On October 31, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced a $500,000 settlement with Plastic Surgery Associates of South Dakota (“PSA”) concerning potential...more

Williams Mullen

Will 50 Enforcement Actions Be Sufficiently “Loud and Clear” that HIPAA’s Right of Access Must Be Honored?

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Because of pervasive misunderstanding of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), providers all too frequently create impermissible barriers to patient access to medical records. In many cases, such...more

Saul Ewing LLP

A “Scary” OCR CMP Imposed Upon a Solo Dental Practice

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On October 21, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced a civil monetary penalty (“CMP”) of $70,000 against a solo dental practice that provides family dental...more

Williams Mullen

Ransomware Hat Trick: OCR Scores Three Major Enforcement Actions in 2024

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Ransomware attacks are a growing threat in the health care sector due to the value of personal health information (PHI). In addition to being expensive, these attacks can cripple health care operations, delay patient care,...more

Saul Ewing LLP

Medical Practice Ordered to Pay HIPAA Civil Monetary Penalty Following Acquisition

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In October 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced the imposition of a civil monetary payment against Providence Medical Institute (“PMI”), a large medical...more

Baker Donelson

The Office for Civil Rights Recently Settled Two Ransomware Related Investigations

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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently settled two ransomware cases with covered entities. These cases signal the government's growing concern with health care...more

Saul Ewing LLP

Medical Practice Agrees to Pay $250,000 HIPAA Settlement Following Ransomware Attack

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In late September 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced a settlement with Cascade Eye and Skin Centers, P.C., a health care provider in the state of...more

Saul Ewing LLP

OCR Imposes $115,200 CMP Against HIPAA-Covered Entity

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On August 1, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced a civil monetary penalty of $115,200 against American Medical Response (“AMR”) based on a complaint that...more

Arnall Golden Gregory LLP

OCR Announces Latest in Right of Access Enforcement Actions With Imposition of Civil Monetary Penalty

On August 1, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced the imposition of a civil monetary penalty (“CMP”) of $115,200 collected against American Medical Response...more

Saul Ewing LLP

HIPAA Security Rule Settlement Results in $950,000 Payment by a Mid-Atlantic Health System

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On July 1, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office For Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced a $950,000 settlement with Heritage Valley Health System (“Heritage Valley”) and a three-year Corrective...more

ArentFox Schiff

Key Takeaways from OCR’s CY22 HIPAA Reports to Congress

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On February 14, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued its annual reports to Congress detailing its actions to enforce the privacy, security, and breach notification...more

Benesch

Annual Report to Congress on Breaches of Unsecured Protected Health Information

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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently published an executive summary (Report) outlining key enforcement activities of the Health Insurance Portability and...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

HHS Office for Civil Rights Reaches Second Health Care Ransomware Settlement

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently announced its second settlement in four months growing out of a ransomware attack on a health care business. Maryland-based Green Ridge...more

BakerHostetler

HHS OCR Provides Annual Report to Congress Detailing 2022 Enforcement Activities

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On Feb. 16, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) published its 2022 Annual Report to Congress. ...more

Saul Ewing LLP

HHS OCR Issues Its Most Recent HIPAA Annual Report and a Second Ransomware Settlement

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On February 14, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued two reports to Congress as required by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health...more

Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA)

News Briefs: January 8, 2024

H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute Hospital Inc. in Tampa, Florida, has agreed to pay $19.564 million to settle false claims allegations over claims submitted to federal health care programs for items and...more

BakerHostetler

HHS OCR Announces Largest Civil Monetary Penalty Imposed Since 2021 for Snooping Incident

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Nearly two months after settlement was reached, the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (HHS OCR) announced on Feb. 6 that it obtained a resolution agreement with Montefiore Medical Center over...more

Saul Ewing LLP

NYC Hospital Agrees to Pay $4.75 Million as Part of a HIPAA Settlement

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On February 6, 2024, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced a settlement with Montefiore Medical Center (“MMC”) for alleged HIPAA Security Rule violations and MMC agreed to pay $4.75 million and enter into a...more

Mintz - Health Care Viewpoints

Health Care Privacy and Security In 2024: Six Critical Topics to Watch

As we reflect on the flurry of activity in the health care data privacy and security space in 2023 and look ahead to what will continue to be a busy 2024, we are seeing the early stages of federal agency movement to align the...more

Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA)

OCR Ends Year With Settlements That Tread Old Ground, Says New Rules Are Coming—Someday

If the penultimate enforcement settlement of 2023 issued by the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) sounds familiar, that’s with good reason. And the last one of the year should ring some bells, too....more

Bricker Graydon LLP

HHS Issue Six Figure Penalty for Ransomware Attack

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Late last year, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued its first HIPAA settlement agreement involving a ransomware attack. In the press release announcing the settlement, HHS stated that they began...more

Saul Ewing LLP

News Article Results in $80,000 HIPAA Settlement by New York State Hospital

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On November 20, 2023, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced an $80,000 HIPAA settlement with Saint Joseph’s Medical Center (“SJMC”) in New York State. The...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

Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA)

OCR: UHC Admitted Worker ‘Error’ Left Records Request Languishing in the Mail, Pays $80,000

Start with a records request. Add a seven months’ wait. Stir in the chaos of the pandemic, with most employees working from home. Blend in a perhaps-neglected post office box. Bake for two-and-a-half years....more

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