News from the Health Law Gurus™ is a weekly summary of notable health law news from around the country with helpful links to related content. Check back every week for the latest health law news stories.
Top Five Resolutions for Covered Entities and Business Associates in 2015 – The New Year is here. It is time to make those 2015 resolutions, and not just those for getting fit and healthy. Resolve now to improve your organization’s compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”). See the list of our suggested top five resolutions for covered entities and business associates in 2015 by reading our full blog post here.
Health Information of 485,000 U.S. Postal Service Employees Hacked by Network Intruders – The United States Postal Service (USPS) is reporting that approximately 485,000 employees, former employees, and retirees may have had their health information stolen by network hackers. According to a nextgov.com article, the hacked records are covered by federal privacy law; however, USPS does not have reporting obligation under HIPAA because the agency is excluded from reporting breaches under HIPAA. Read the full Nextgov article, here.
Affordable Care Act Changes Already in the Works – Rep. Todd Young, R-Ind., introduced H.R. 30, the Save the American Workers Act of 2015, which proposes to change the threshold for classification as a full-time employee for purposes of the employer mandate. Currently, the threshold is 30 hours per week. H.R. 30 would define a full-time employee as “an employee who is employed on average at least 40 hours per week.” To read the full text of H.R. 30, click here. Stay tuned to the Health Law Gurus™ for more information.
Health Insurance Carriers in New Jersey Required to Encrypt Personal Information – Governor Chris Christie has signed new privacy legislation, S562, which requires health insurance carriers to encrypt personal information contained in computerized records. For purposes of this legislation, personal information “means an individual’s first name or first initial and last name linked with any one or more of the following data elements: (1) Social Security number; (2) driver’s license number or State identification card number; (3) address; or (4) identifiable health information.” Health insurance carriers will be subject to financial penalty for failure to comply. To read a full copy of S562, click here.
Lawrence is the Chair for Obermayer’s Health Care Law Department and Election Law Practice Group. Lawrence’s Health Care Law legal experience includes the representation of Pennsylvania County governments in Behavioral Health Managed...
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