Health plans now may begin applying for the standard health plan identifier required by HIPAA, CMS has announced. The online application was posted March 29 on CMS’ Health Plan and Other Entity Enumeration System (HPOES). Most HIPAA-covered health plans, including employer…
The U.S. Department of Labor has collected its rules, guidance and other materials on the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act into a new MHPAEA Web page. The materials on this page include a new set of frequently asked…
A heart surgery group practice agreed to pay $100,000 to settle federal allegations that it chronically neglected standard HIPAA requirements such as risk assessment, training and business associate contracts, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced April…
A standard health plan identifier proposed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) could cost health plans a total of up to $1.3 billion to implement. The proposed rules, released April 9, would establish a unique health…
Final rules that will govern the state-based insurance exchanges created by health reform include more detailed privacy and security requirements for the exchanges themselves and participating insurers. These restrictions also will apply indirectly to agents, brokers and others involved in…
A health insurer agreed to pay $1.5 million and adopt a detailed corrective action plan to resolve HIPAA security allegations stemming from a 2009 data breach. This is the first HIPAA enforcement action to result from the breach reports now…
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is refocusing its HIPAA privacy enforcement efforts on seeking monetary penalties in cases of “abject failure” to comply, the head of HHS’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) indicated. “The majority of…
Citing concerns from health care providers, federal regulators are delaying the compliance deadline for HIPAA’s ICD-10 code set rules, which had been scheduled for Oct. 1, 2013, the agency announced Feb. 16. “We have heard from many in the provider…
A 39-month prison sentence was handed down Feb. 1 for an Alabama woman who had pleaded guilty to stealing more than 4,000 patient records from a Birmingham hospital. A federal district court sentenced Chelsea Catherine Stewart to 15 months for wrongfully…
A mandatory uniform standard for health plans to pay claims electronically was adopted in rules issued Jan. 5 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The rules are designed to help health care providers match payments received…