Here are the best practices for plans chosen for investigation: 1. Consider getting employee benefits counsel involved early The DOL investigation process generally includes requests for a long list of documents ranging from plan documents to financial documents. Working with your employee benefits counsel from the beginning may help with the overwhelming process that awaits you with the […]
Read More...Today, the EEOC released its final rule with regard to employer wellness programs and the ADA (and a final rule with regard to those same programs and GINA). These final rules go into effect on the first day of the first plan year beginning on or after January 1, 2017, and apply to all Employer-Sponsored […]
Read More...The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has launched the second phase of its HIPAA audit program, which focuses on compliance with HIPAA’s Privacy, Security and Breach Notification Rules. HHS’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is responsible for conducting these audits. This second phase of the HIPAA audit program covers both covered entities and […]
Read More...Violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) can come at a hefty price! Just ask North Memorial Health Care of Minnesota, as they recently had to pay $1.55 million in settlement charges that they potentially violated the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules by failing to enter into a business associate agreement with […]
Read More...Due to the fact that health and welfare have become ever-present, employees now expect medical, dental, life, and other insurance when they are hired as part of their benefits package. Employers offer this coverage to attract and reward employees and to avoid penalties under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). There are burdens of compliance, which […]
Read More...The EEOC (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) just released its latest proposed strategy for allowing wellness plan managers access to covered spouses’ medical data while still complying with the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA). Currently, regulations say that a wellness program cannot require* employees to provide their genetic information as a condition of […]
Read More...from EBIA HHS has issued a request for information (RFI) seeking public comments regarding whether changes should be made to its policy on health plan identifiers (HPIDs). As background, HIPAA—enacted in 1996—required HHS to adopt standards for a unique identifier for health plans to use in standard transactions. Congress subsequently established—as part of health care […]
Read More...In a decision that’s being hailed as a victory for employer-sponsored wellness programs, the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota yesterday denied the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) request for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against Honeywell International Inc. The EEOC claims the company’s wellness program violates the Americans with Disabilities […]
Read More...12/19/2018 HHS final update: This proposed rule would rescind the adopted standard unique health plan identifier (HPID) and the implementation specifications and requirements for its use and the other entity identifier (OEID) and implementation specifications for its use. The decision to propose to rescind the adopted standards was made following a careful assessment of industry […]
Read More...From EBIA HHS has added several new resources to its HIPAA privacy website, including the following materials addressing the use and disclosure of protected health information (PHI) in law-enforcement situations, for certain marketing purposes, and with respect to deceased individuals: “Blue Card” Guide for Law Enforcement. This two-page summary briefly explains the scope of the HIPAA […]
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