Month: December 2020
December 23, 2020 | Eric D. Fader | Electronic Health Records | HIPAA | Legislation and Public Policy | Litigation | Private Insurers
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently released an audit report on HIPAA compliance by 166 covered entities and 41 business associates during 2016-2017. The audits included detailed on-site reviews of entities’ documentation and implementation of HIPAA rules. The release of the report may foreshadow increased enforcement activities
Read MoreDecember 21, 2020 | Wendy Hoey Sheinberg | COVID-19 | Legislation and Public Policy | Nursing Homes
Spending time with family is always important, especially during the holiday season. The holidays are different this year, due to the pandemic, and spending time with loved ones in skilled nursing facilities requires additional planning.
In response to recent spikes in Covid-19 cases in skilled nursing facilities, the New York Department of Health in November
Read MoreDecember 17, 2020 | Eric D. Fader | Behavioral Health | COVID-19 | Electronic Health Records | HIPAA | Hospitals | Legislation and Public Policy | Private Insurers
A proposed rule released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on December 10 would give healthcare providers more flexibility to share patients’ health information for certain purposes. The rule, titled “Proposed Modifications to the HIPAA Privacy Rule to Support, and Remove Barriers to, Coordinated Care and Individual Engagement,” would loosen HIPAA restrictions
Read MoreDecember 11, 2020 | Eric D. Fader | Legislation and Public Policy | Medicare and Medicaid | Telehealth
The 2021 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) final rule recently released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) includes the addition of 60 new telehealth services that will be covered and reimbursed by Medicare. The new services will allow Medicare beneficiaries to have greater access to telehealth, with a particular focus on residents of
Read MoreDecember 4, 2020 | Rivkin Rounds Staff | COVID-19 | HIPAA
A recent article in Law360, “Bogus HIPAA Claims Are Flourishing As Pandemic Worsens,” discussed how the Covid-19 pandemic is fueling false assertions about the scope of privacy protections under HIPAA. Rivkin Radler’s Eric Fader was quoted in the article.
There are many
Read MoreDecember 3, 2020 | Geoffrey R. Kaiser | Electronic Health Records | Fraud and Abuse | Hospitals | Legislation and Public Policy | Medical Devices and Wearables | Medicare and Medicaid | Pharmaceuticals | Telehealth
The Office of Inspector General, Department of Health and Human Services (OIG) has finalized new safe harbors and modifications of existing safe harbors under the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) to reflect a policy priority favoring a value-based health care system that “pays for health and outcomes” and that will “remove potential barriers to more effective
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