Catherine Short converses with Rachel V. Rose, JD, MBA, principal with Rachel V. Rose – Attorney at Law, P.L.L.C., Houston, TX, on the topic of “The New AKS and Stark Laws Final Rules – Key Take-Aways.” On November 20, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a Final Rule related to the Medicare Physician Self-Referral Law (Stark Law). Nearly simultaneously, the Office of the Inspector General, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS-OIG), released a Final Rule, which amends various safe harbors to the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS). The changes appear to be based, in large part, on value-based healthcare delivery and payment systems. On this episode, we will highlight the key changes, along with the similarities and differences in the language between the two Final Rules, examine the new AKS safe harbors and Stark Law exceptions, compare and contrast critical items found in both Final Rules, and appreciate the risks of non-compliance.
HIPAA in the time of COVID-19: Recent updates and enforcement actions
Rachel V. Rose, JD, MBA, principal with Rachel V. Rose – Attorney at Law, P.L.L.C., Houston, TX presents. Throughout the pandemic, HHS-OCR has announced the use of its enforcement discretion when bringing forth HIPAA-related enforcement actions. This trend appears to be continuing as the vaccine roles out. Additionally, proposed changes to the Privacy Rule were released in December 2020 and OCR continues to enforce violations against providers for not providing a patient with his/her medical records. This presentation provides a timely overview of these items, as well as addressing key terms such “reasonable” and “good faith” in the context of protecting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of protected health information.
HIPAA Business Associate Agreements Under HITECH
Rachel V. Rose, JD, MBA, principal with Rachel V. Rose – Attorney at Law, P.L.L.C., Houston, TX presents. “As part of the Department’s effort to fully protect patients’ health information and their rights under HIPAA, OCR has issued this important new fact sheet clearly explaining a business associate’s liability,” said OCR Director Roger Severino. In 2013, under the authority granted by the HITECH Act, OCR issued the Final Omnibus Rule that, among other things, identified provisions of the HIPAA Rules that apply directly to business associates and for which business associates are directly liable. One of the most notable items is the Business Associate Agreement. The presentation highlights enforcement actions, as well as key compliance items business associates and subcontractors need to focus on.
Q&A: HHS Final Rules, Patient Access to PHI & Health Apps Intersect
Rachel V. Rose, JD, MBA, presented the webinar “HHS Final Rules, Patient Access to PHI & Health Apps Intersect” recently and a recording can be viewed here. Rachel returned to answer many commonly asked questions from the webinar.