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New ACA Nondiscrimination Rules: Protecting Individuals Against Sex Discrimination
/in Nondiscrimination, Interpreters and TranslatorsBy Patricia Dean, Holland & Hart LLP
On May 18, 2016, HHS published its final rules implementing the anti-discrimination provisions of the Affordable Care Act § 1557. This is the third of three alerts discussing various aspects of the new rules. This alert focuses on the rules protecting individuals against discrimination based on sex. The first alert (available here) focused on the rules’ requirement for language assistance for persons with limited English proficiency. The second alert (available here) focused on the rules ensuring protections for individuals with disabilities. The final rule goes into effect on July 18, 2016.
Relationship to Other Laws. Section 1557 is the first federal civil rights law to prohibit discrimination “on the basis of sex” (including gender identity and sex stereotyping) in covered health programs and activities. In doing so, it builds on HHS Titles VII and IX, and federal case law to clarify what constitutes sex discrimination and prohibit specific discriminatory practices. It does not preempt or alter other laws, and providers must continue to comply with other state and federal laws in addition to the new ACA nondiscrimination rules. Read more
New ACA Nondiscrimination Rules: Assistance for Persons with Disabilities
/in Nondiscrimination, Interpreters and Translatorsby Teresa Locke, Holland & Hart LLP
On May 18, 2016, HHS published its final rules implementing the anti-discrimination provisions of the Affordable Care Act § 1557. This is the second of three alerts discussing various aspects of the new rules. This alert focuses on the rules ensuring protections for individuals with disabilities. The first alert – published on May 26 – focused on the rules’ requirement for language assistance for persons with limited English proficiency. The third and final alert – to be issued in the near future – will cover rules related to sex discrimination.
Relationship to Other Laws. The final rules are consistent with existing directives implementing the requirements already existing under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (“Section 504). Nothing in the new rules should be interpreted to invalidate or limit the rights, remedies, procedures, or legal standards available to disabled persons under the ADA or Section 504. Accordingly, entities must ensure compliance with existing laws in addition to the new ACA rules, including state laws that may be more restrictive than the ACA regulations. Read more
Charging Patients for Copies of Their Records: OCR Guidance
/in HIPAAby Kim C. Stanger, Holland & Hart LLP
HIPAA generally gives patients or their personal representative the right to access or obtain copies of the patient’s protected health information (“PHI”) in their designated record set1, and limits the amount that providers may charge patients for PHI to a reasonable cost-based fee. (45 CFR 164.524). In February 2016, the OCR issued guidance (“Guidance”) which clarifies allowable fees and identifies additional actions providers should take when charging fees. The OCR’s Guidance may be accessed here.
Allowable Charges. The OCR confirmed that a provider may only charge the patient or personal representative for the following:
1. Labor for copying the requested PHI, whether in paper or electronic form. This includes only the labor for actually creating and delivering the paper or electronic copy in the form and format requested or agreed upon by the patient once the responsive information has been identified, retrieved, collected, compiled and/or collated. For example, allowable costs may include photocopying paper PHI; scanning paper PHI into an electronic format; converting electronic PHI in one format to the format requested by or agreed to by the patient; creating and executing a mailing or e-mail with the responsive PHI; and/or uploading, downloading, attaching, burning, or otherwise transferring electronic PHI from a provider’s system to portable media, e-mail, app, personal health record, web-based portal (where the PHI is not already maintained in or accessible through the portal), or other manner of delivery of the PHI. (See also 78 FR 5636). Labor for copying does not include costs associated with reviewing the patient’s request; searching for, reviewing, retrieving, segregating, collecting, compiling, or otherwise preparing the responsive information for copying; verifying that only information about the requested patient is included; complying with HIPAA; updating or maintaining record systems; etc. (See also 78 FR 5636). Likewise, it does not include administrative or other costs associated with outsourcing record functions to business associates or others beyond the business associate’s labor costs described above. Read more
Prompt Pay Discounts
/in Fraud and Abuseby Kim C. Stanger, Holland & Hart LLP
Healthcare providers sometimes offer “prompt pay” discounts to encourage patients to pay their bills within a certain period, including outstanding copayments or deductible amounts. Such programs should be structured appropriately to ensure compliance with applicable laws and payer contracts.
1. Federal Fraud and Abuse Laws. If the discount is offered to induce the patient to receive other services payable by Medicare, Medicaid, or other government programs, the discount may violate federal fraud and abuse laws. The federal Anti-Kickback Statute (“AKS”) prohibits knowingly offering any remuneration to persons to induce or reward referrals for items or services covered by federal health programs, including Medicare or Medicaid. See 42 U.S.C. § 1370a-7b. The AKS applies to discounts offered to federal program beneficiaries if the purpose of the discount is to induce referrals. See, e.g., OIG, Special Advisory Bulletin: Offering Gifts and Other Inducements to Beneficiaries (8/30/02); OIG, Special Fraud Alert regarding Routine Waiver of Part B Co-Pays and Deductibles (12/19/94). Similarly, the federal Civil Monetary Penalties Law (“CMPL”) prohibits knowingly offering anything of value to Medicare or Medicaid beneficiaries that is likely to influence the beneficiary’s selection of a particular provider of services payable by Medicare or Medicaid, including waivers or discounts of coinsurance or deductible amounts. See 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7a(a)(5); 42 C.F.R. § 1003.102 and .103(b)(13). Read more
HIPAA Privacy Rule Modified to Permit Covered Entities to Make Certain Limited Disclosures to the National Instant Criminal Background System
/in HIPAAby Teresa Locke, Holland & Hart LLP
On Tuesday, January 6, 2016, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (the Department) issued a final rule, effective February 5, modifying the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule to expressly permit – but not require – certain HIPAA covered entities to disclose to the National Instant Criminal Background System (NICS) certain personal health information (PHI) related to individuals who are subject to a Federal “mental health prohibitor” that disqualifies them from shipping, transporting, possessing, or receiving a firearm. Among the persons subject to the Federal mental health prohibitor established under the Gun Control Act of 1968 and implementing regulations issued by the U.S. Department of Justice are individuals who have been: (a) involuntarily committed to a mental institution; (b) found incompetent to stand trial or not guilty by reason of insanity; or (c) otherwise determined by a court, board, commission, or other lawful authority to be a danger to themselves or others or to lack the mental capacity to contract or manage their own affairs as a result of marked subnormal intelligence or mental illness, incompetency, condition, or disease. Fearing that States might not be fully reporting relevant information to the NCIS because of actual or perceived barriers related to HIPAA, the Department enacted the revision to the Privacy Rule by adding a new category of permitted disclosures to 45 CFR 164.512(k). The new rule is narrowly tailored to appropriately balance public safety goals with important patient privacy interests to ensure that individuals are not discouraged from seeking voluntary treatment for mental health issues.
The new category of permitted disclosures is very limited in scope, applying only to a specific subset of HIPAA covered entities who, under narrow circumstances, may provide discrete personal health information to the NICS. Specifically, the new rule is limited in three ways. First, it applies only to covered entities involved in ordering involuntary commitments or other adjudications that make an individual subject to the Federal mental health prohibitor. It does not apply to disclosures about individuals who are subject to state-only mental health prohibitors. Moreover, the Federal mental health prohibitor does not apply to individuals in a psychiatric facility for observation or who have been admitted voluntarily. Thus, the new rule does not create a permission for most treating providers to disclose PHI about their own patients for these purposes. The Department recognized that encouraging voluntary treatment is critical to ensuring positive outcomes for individuals’ health as well as the public’s safety. The new rule was designed to balance that goal with public safety interests served by the NICS. Read more