Tuesday, December 22, 2020
OVERVIEW
On November 20, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and Office of Inspector General released final rules amending the regulations to the Stark Law and the Anti-Kickback Statute and Beneficiary Inducement Civil Monetary Penalty Law. As part of these final rules, the agencies liberalized the requirements under the existing exception and safe harbor for donations of electronic health record items and services, and created a new exception and safe harbor to allow donations of cybersecurity technology and related services.
IN DEPTH
On November 20, 2020, the US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) released final rules amending the regulations to the physician self-referral law (Stark Law) (Stark Rule) and the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) and Beneficiary Inducement Civil Monetary Penalty Law (collectively, AKS Rule) in connection with HHS’s Regulatory Sprint to Coordinated Care. As part of the Stark Rule and the AKS
OVERVIEW
On December 10, 2020, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) with proposed modifications to the Standards for the Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information (Privacy Rule) adopted under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (collectively, HIPAA). The proposed modifications support individuals’ engagement in their care, remove barriers to coordinated care and reduce regulatory burdens in the health care industry under HHS’s Regulatory Sprint to Coordinated Care.
IN DEPTH
On December 10, 2020, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) with proposed modifications to the Standards for the Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information (Privacy Rule) adopted under the Health Ins
Individual Right of Access
The NPRM would make several changes to individuals’ Privacy Rule right to inspect and obtain copies of their protected health information (PHI) maintained in a designated record set. The proposed changes would:
Expand the methods that individuals may use when inspecting their health information to include the ability to take notes, videos and photographs.
Require covered entity health care providers to allow patients to review PHI upon request that is readily available at the point of care in conjunction with a health care appointment.
Reduce the time limit for covered entities to provide access from 30 to 15 calendar days.