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On April 12, 2023, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (the “ Notice”) to solicit comments on its proposal to modify the HIPAA Privacy Rule. Specifically, the Privacy Rule modifications described in...
This month’s Friday Five explores recent decisions that reflect the precise nature of rules and definitions in the context of ERISA claims. For example, effective dates of CFR code provisions and contractually defined limitation periods can draw specific points on the timeline of a case. Similarly...
The 2021 calendar year reports from HHS OCR describe OCR’s efforts that calendar year and are instructive tools for all parties who need to comply with HIPAA to understand macro-level trends. What You Need to Know: OCR continues to receive tens of thousands HIPAA complaints each year. “Large”...
On January 26, 2023, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) published a letter and resolution agreement regarding a December 2020 complaint (OCR Complaint # 04-21-2060) filed against Troy University by a student alleging discrimination on the basis of pregnancy in...
This month’s Friday Five covers cases relating to discovery in ERISA benefits cases, an appellate court strictly interpreting ERISA regulatory deadlines, a district court authorizing an ERISA breach of fiduciary duty claim based on alleged misrepresentations from an employer, another district court...
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in health care, and specifically, as the utilization of software in medical devices continues to increase. Machine learning (ML) is a branch of AI in which computer systems automatically adapt, improve, and make predictions by applying algorithms to analyze...
On December 15, 2022, the National Labor Relations Board’s Los Angeles regional office determined that an unfair labor practice charge (ULP) alleging that student-athletes should be classified as employees has “merit.” The National College Players Association filed the ULP in February 2022 against...
On December 2, 2022, the Office for Civil Rights (“ OCR”) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (“ SAMHSA”) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“ HHS”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“ NPRM”) to revise the Confidentiality of Substance Use...
Neither shots nor pills will immunize smaller medical, dental, chiropractic, and physical therapy practices, surgery centers, and other healthcare concerns from compliance with the looming (and burdensome) reporting obligations imposed on them if they are “reporting companies” under the federal...
This month’s Friday Five explores recent decisions that illustrate the importance of the administrative record built by a claims administrator, and the impact that the depth and thoroughness of the record will have on litigation over claims decisions. Whether reviewing claims under the de novo...
Effective November 16, 2022, New Jersey will impose additional requirements when a ‘health care entity’ is sold or undergoes a change in control. The changes are the result of the enactment of S-315, on August 18, 2021. What You Need to Know: New Jersey enacted a statute that will impose additional...
Student-athletes wasted no time following the NCAA’s rule change in July 2021 permitting compensation for name, image, and likeness (“NIL”) in landing deals of all types and sizes. Now, sixteen months later, questions remain as to whether, and to what extent, institutions can be involved in the deal...
The No Surprises Act (“NSA”) is a federal law that went into effect January 1, 2022. The NSA statute was enacted as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 and has been implemented by three interim rule s jointly announced by the Office of Personnel Management within the Department of the...