HHS Office for Civil Rights Director Melanie Fontes Rainer on Progress and News at OCR
ERISA Blog | Changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rules A Primer for Self-Insured Group Health Plans
Podcast - Data Privacy and Tracking Technology Compliance
Patient Data and Privacy
2022 DSIR Deeper Dive: OCR’s Right of Access Initiative
HIPAA Tips With Williams Mullen - Telehealth After the Pandemic
Relaxed HIPAA Restrictions For Providers Using Telehealth
Webinar: Investigating and Resolving Sexual Assaults on Campus
2024 was a record year for cyberattacks in the healthcare sector. According to the Breach Portal maintained by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”), to date this year, there...more
The Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services (OCR) was busy negotiating and settling enforcement actions in November and early December. Since October 31, 2024, the OCR has settled five separate...more
A healthcare provider delivering pain management services in Florida and other states faces a $1.19 million civil monetary penalty from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR)....more
On December 2, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (HHS OCR) announced a settlement with Holy Redeemer Family Medicine, a Pennsylvania covered entity, regarding an alleged violation...more
On November 1, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced a $90,000 settlement with Bryan County Ambulance Authority (“BCAA”), a provider of emergency medical...more
Change Healthcare Inc. has amended its initial breach report to the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to state that 100 million individuals were impacted by its mammoth ransomware attack and breach. However, as of Oct. 24,...more
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
Before this year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) resolved 70 breach investigations from which fines or civil monetary penalties were secured. Of those investigations, only...more
In 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”) Director Melanie Fontes Rainer announced that OCR will resume auditing Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”)...more
Let’s review for a moment. It’s not a HIPAA violation to be a victim of ransomware. It’s not a HIPAA violation to pay a ransom. It’s up to the covered entity (CE) to determine if a security or privacy incident is a...more
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
The Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services (OCR) announced on September 26, 2024, that it had entered a settlement with Cascade Eye and Skin Centers (together, Cascade) for $250,000 following...more
The cyber breach at Change Healthcare in 2024 stands out as one of the most significant cyber-attacks in recent memory. Its repercussions extend far beyond immediate industry disruptions, resonating deeply in regulatory...more
Announcing its fourth ransomware cybersecurity investigation and settlement, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) also observed there has been a 264% increase in large ransomware breaches since 2018....more
On July 19, Change Healthcare Ince. filed a breach report with HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) concerning its mammoth ransomware attack and breach. The organization’s breach report to OCR identifies just 500 individuals as...more
On July 1, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that Heritage Valley Health System, a provider in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, agreed to pay $950,000 to resolve...more
On May 31, 2024, more than four months after the February 2024 Change Healthcare ransomware attack, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) updated its Change Healthcare FAQs. ...more
Over the course of the past few months, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), both of which are divisions of the U.S. Department of Health and...more
‘Dear Mary,’ is Troutman Pepper’s Incidents + Investigations team’s advice column. Here, you will find Mary’s answers to questions about anything and everything cyber-related – data breaches, forensic investigations, how to...more
We are pleased to announce that several of the firm’s practice groups and attorneys were recognized in the 2024 edition of Chambers USA, a directory of leading law firms and attorneys. Chambers and Partners annually...more
Cyber, Privacy, and Technology Report - Welcome to your monthly rundown of all things cyber, privacy, and technology, where we highlight all the happenings you may have missed....more
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
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
Principal Liz Heddleston was recently interviewed by HCPro for a story published on April 8, 2024, discussing the rising threat of ransomware attacks for healthcare providers. The story highlights lessons learned from a...more
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