Tag: HIPAA

HIPAA

Repeated Breaches Result in $3.5M HIPAA Settlement

A major renal care provider agreed to $3.5 million to resolve Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy and security allegations arising from a series of data breaches at five different facilities over a 5-month span in 2012.

Wellness programs

Employers Left in Wellness-Plan Limbo

In recent years, more and more employers have implemented wellness programs—employee participation programs that may include wellness education, health or fitness challenges, and even limited medical testing and preventive care requirements—to promote and encourage employee health and wellbeing. Through these programs, they hope to create a healthier workforce and reduce insurance costs.

wellness

Court Vacates EEOC Rules on Wellness Disclosures

A federal district court vacated the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) rules on how employers’ wellness programs must comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Genetic Nondiscrimination Act (GINA).

HR’s Top HIPAA Compliance Misconceptions Dispelled

HIPAA has become synonymous with medical records privacy, for good reason. Enacted more than 20 years ago, it gives individuals the power to decide who has access to their health records and has forced major changes in the way health care providers, health plans and businesses handle records.

phishing

Phishing Scam Leads to $400,000 HIPAA Settlement at Colorado Health Center

A nonprofit health center in Colorado agreed to pay $400,000 to settle Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) security allegations after a hacker accessed employees’ e-mail accounts and obtained 3,200 individuals’ protected health information (PHI) in a phishing incident, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced April 12.

New Bill Regarding EEOC Wellness Rules

By David Slaughter, JD Legislation introduced by a key House Republican would largely negate the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) wellness program rules, which plan sponsors have criticized for adding a duplicative layer of regulation to earlier standards set by other agencies. BLR® Senior Legal Editor David Slaughter, JD, has the facts in today’s […]

HIPAA

HIPAA Experts Highlight Recent ‘Spike’ in Enforcement

A recent surge in monetary Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) settlements is altering the compliance landscape at a time when new technical and legal challenges also are coming into play, practitioners and regulators told a recent conference.

No HIPAA Exception for Cybersecurity Information Sharing, HHS Warns

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act’s (HIPAA’s) privacy rule does not exempt the sharing of information on cyber threat indicators, so HIPAA-covered entities and their business associates may not share protected health information (PHI) for this purpose unless HIPAA otherwise allows it, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) warned recently.