News from the Health Law Gurus™: Week of February 1, 2015

February 5, 2015 | By Lawrence J. Tabas

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.

Millions Affected by Hackers’ Attack on Health Insurer Anthem, Inc.“Anthem was the target of a very sophisticated external cyber attack,” announced Joseph Swedish, Anthem’s President and CEO. Anthem, Inc., formerly known as WellPoint, Inc., is one of the largest health insurance companies in the United States. The exact number of affected individuals is still unknown, but initial estimates indicate that tens of millions of individuals have been compromised as a result of this attack. To learn more, read our full blog post here.

Will HealthCare.gov be Banned from Sharing Consumers’ Data?  A new bill, H.R. 633, has been introduced following reports that Healthcare.gov has been providing consumer data to third parties. Healthcare.gov is the website through which individuals access the federal health insurance exchange. The bill, Protecting Rights Online To Ensure Consumers’ Trust (PROTECT) Act, aims to prohibit the sharing of certain information between Healthcare.gov and third parties.The bill was introduced by Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska). To read a press release about the bill, click here. To see a full copy of the bill, click here.

Hospital Manager’s Stolen Cell Phone Results in HIPAA Breach for Thousands of Patients – A hospital manager’s cell phone has been stolen impacting more than 5,000 patients. The manager is employed by St. Peter’s Hospital. According to reports, the theft occurred at an off-site physician practice, and the cell phone was used by the manager to access the hospital’s email system. Therefore, the thief could potentially access information such as scheduling, appointments, names, dates of birth, and medical provider information. To read more about this incident, click here.

House Votes to Repeal ACA for the Fourth Time –  If enacted, bill H.R. 596 would repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the health care provisions of the Health Care and Education and Reconciliation Act of 2010. This week, the bill passed in the House by a vote of 239-186. It is the fourth time the House has voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act. To read a full copy of the bill, click here.

About the Authors

Lawrence J. Tabas

Partner

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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