Articles and Blogs

Friday, April 10 Recap Note – ​We believe this is the most up-to-date information available at this time, but it is subject to change ​as circumstances warrant. Also, all finalized resources can be found ​on the COVID-19 ​Resource ​Center page ​of Hall Render’s website.​ HHS Delivers Initial $30 Billion in CARES Act Provider Funding HHS announced... READ MORE

Monday, March 30 Recap Note – ​We believe this is the most up-to-date information available at this time, but it is subject to change ​as circumstances warrant. Also, all finalized resources can be found ​on the COVID-19 ​Resource ​Center page ​of Hall Render’s website.​ CMS Updates Waivers & Flexibilities Late this afternoon, CMS updated the waivers... READ MORE

Saturday, March 21 Recap Note – ​We believe this is the most up-to-date information available at this time, but it is subject to change ​as circumstances warrant. Also, all finalized resources can be found ​on the COVID-19 ​Resource ​Center page ​of Hall Render’s website.​ Congressional Outlook After 12 hours of negotiation on Friday, Republicans and Democrats... READ MORE

Recently, there has been increased indication that patients, attorneys and the government are fed up with the fees that are being charged by providers when patients request access to or copies of their medical records. Providers who do not understand the type of request being made and the applicable fee rules that apply under... READ MORE

Citing its “Right of Access Initiative,” on September 9, 2019, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced that a hospital in Florida (the “Hospital”) will settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) by paying a civil penalty of $85,000 and adopting a corrective... READ MORE

The Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) issued a factsheet detailing ten ways a business associate can be held directly liable for violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”), as provided by the Health Information Technology for Economic Clinical Health (“HITECH”) Act of 2009. Although covered entities are ultimately responsible... READ MORE

The Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced that a health system in California (the “System”) was required to pay a $3 million fine and adopt an extensive corrective action plan to settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”). The System operates several hospitals, including a rehabilitation hospital... READ MORE

The Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”), announced that a small professional association with three doctors and four locations (the “Practice”) has agreed to pay $125,000 and adopt a corrective action plan to settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”). The... READ MORE

On October 15, 2018, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced that it had reached a record $16 million settlement with Anthem arising out of alleged violations of the Privacy and Security Rules under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”). The settlement comes... READ MORE

On July 12, 2013, CMS issued S&C: 13-46-ALL regarding changes for State Survey Agency (“SA”) obtaining OCR information from providers seeking initial enrollment in the Medicare program or for providers undergoing a change of ownership (“CHOW”).  In the past, the SAs would send the provider an OCR clearance request with the initial Medicare enrollment packet. ... READ MORE