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Prepare for Changes Under New Mexico Senate Bill 152
/in Legislationby Little West and Kaitlyn Luck
On April 5, 2021, the Governor of New Mexico signed Senate Bill 152 (SB152) into law. SB 152 amends the Continuing Care Act (Section 24-17-4 NMSA 1978, (the Act) to address issues that have arisen involving the solvency of Continuing Care Communities, with little or no equity to cover shortfalls, and the disproportionate impacts that occur from the need to relocate residents on very short notice. Read more
HIPAA, Business Associates, and the Conduit Exception
/in HIPAABy Kim Stanger
The HIPAA privacy and security rules impose significant requirements on covered entities and their business associates; violations may result in penalties ranging from $119 to $59,522 per violation. (45 CFR § 160.404; 45 CFR § 102.3; 85 FR 2879). “Business associates” are generally those entities that create, receive, maintain or transmit protected health information (“PHI”) on behalf of a covered entity (45 § CFR 160.103, definition of business associate); thus, most entities that handle data for healthcare providers or their business associates will become business associates and subject to HIPAA requirements, including data storage, data transmission, and cloud services providers unless an exception applies. Read more
Directed Referrals: New Stark Rules
/in StarkBy Kim Stanger
Under the federal Stark law, hospitals and other healthcare employers may require that employed or contracted physicians refer items or services to the hospital or another designated provider subject to certain limits. (42 CFR § 411.354(d)(4); see https://www.hollandhart.com/requiring-referrals-from-employees-and-contractors). Effective January 19, 2021, CMS modified the rules for such directed referral requirements in physician agreements. If they have not done so, hospitals and other providers will need to update their physician agreements if they want to require employed or contracted physicians to refer designated health services to the employer. Read more
HIPAA, Patient Access, and Designated Record Sets
/in HIPAABy Kim Stanger
With limited exceptions,1 HIPAA generally gives individuals the right to access or obtain copies of their protected health information (“PHI”) from covered entities. (45 CFR § 164.524(a)). But the right of access does not apply to all PHI that a covered entity might have; instead, individuals only have a right to access information in their “designated record set”. This article summarizes relevant standards for determining which records patients have a right to access. Read more
HHS Proposes Modifications to the HIPAA Privacy Rule
/in HIPAAOn December 10, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced proposed changes to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule to support individuals’ engagement in their care, remove barriers to coordinated care, and reduce regulatory burdens on the healthcare industry. The Holland & Hart Healthcare Group shares this important update from HHS for your information:
Read the HHS Update.
We will continue to monitor this news and will provide more in-depth insights on the impacts of the proposed modifications.