Health Care Law Blog

Recap from the 2015 Health Law Institute

Foster Swift health care attorneys recently attended and presented at the 21^st Annual Health Law Institute on March 12 and 13, 2015. The two-day institute, which was co-sponsored by the Institute for Continuing Legal Education and the Health Care Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan, included presentations on recent statutory, regulatory, and case law developments in the health care industry.

Foster Swift Attorney Jennifer Van Regenmorter co-presented the “Michigan Health Law Update,” which provided an overview of Michigan’s most significant health law developments from the past year. This was Van Regenmorter’s third time presenting this yearly update at the Institute. Read More ›

Categories: Fraud & Abuse, HIPAA, News & Events, Physicians

Posted by: Julie LaVille Hamlet

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“Top 10 Healthcare Law Trends in 2015” – Part 2

The February issue of the American Health Lawyers Association’s AHLA Connections features a list of the top ten issues that will impact healthcare law in 2015. We summarized the first five topics in a previous blog. (Miss our summary of the first five? Please click here.)

Here are the remaining trends to think about:  Read More ›

Categories: Health Care Reform, HIPAA, Medicare/Medicaid, News & Events, Providers

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Hospital Mergers Continued to Climb in 2014

Since the approval of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, hospital consolidation has been on the rise and according to a report detailed in a recent Chicago Tribune article, 2014 followed suit with a “flurry of mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures.” The article features findings from a report issued by healthcare consulting firm Kaufman Hall, including that in 2014 95 deals were announced, down slightly from 98 in 2013 but up from 66 in 2010.

Passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010 increased pressure on hospitals to operate more effectively and efficiently, which has driven industry consolidation. The ACA favors a service model that rewards organizations for producing quality outcomes – not quantity – and many providers believe that compliance will be easier with the greater scale and integration enabled by mergers. Through consolidation, many also hope to be better positioned to attract new patients with expanded services and medical specializations.

Additionally, the ACA’s introduction of a massive wave of new patients into the healthcare system, combined with diminishing Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements, means that the business of healthcare is becoming increasingly expensive, especially for independent hospitals. Another challenge – and driving force behind consolidation – has been the need to upgrade IT systems and facilities to comply with rules and regulations beyond the ACA. Read More ›

Categories: Health Care Reform, HIPAA, HITECH Act, Hospitals, News & Events

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And Then There Was One: Economic Pressures Squeeze Metro Detroit Hospitals into Consolidation

Reduced reimbursements. A shift toward global payment. A demand for integration, quality of care and medical specializations. In order to compete amidst today’s healthcare market pressures, independent hospitals in Michigan and around the nation are increasingly deciding that they cannot go it alone. A recent Detroit News article reveals how this trend is playing out in Metro Detroit, with one of the region’s last two independent hospitals poised for acquisition.   

Observers of Detroit’s healthcare environment are reportedly not surprised by the news that Crittenton Hospital Medical Center has signed a letter of intent to join St. Louis-based Ascension Health, the largest Catholic and nonprofit health system in the nation. With Monroe-based Mercy Memorial Hospital announcing on January 6 that it is joining the ProMedica health care company, the Crittenton deal will leave Doctors’ Hospital in Pontiac as the region’s last remaining independent hospital.

Laura Wotruba, spokeswoman for the Michigan Health and Hospital Association, said that this is not a Michigan issue, but rather a widespread pattern. “[It is] a national trend [and] something we’ve been seeing around the country.” Read More ›

Categories: Electronic Health Records, Health Care Reform, HIPAA, HITECH Act, Hospitals, News & Events, Regulatory

Posted by: Julie LaVille Hamlet

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HHS Addresses Treatment of Same-Sex Spouses Under HIPAA

Last month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) issued guidance addressing the treatment of same-sex spouses under the HIPAA Privacy Rule in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Windsor.

In Windsor, the Supreme Court held Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) to be unconstitutional. Section 3 of DOMA had excluded same-sex marriages from recognition under federal law.

As a result of the Windsor ruling, legally married same-sex spouses are entitled to additional rights under several federal regulations, one of which is the HIPAA Privacy Rule ("Rule"). The Rule provides certain protections to family members of patients.  In its guidance, OCR clarifies that legally married same-sex spouses are family members for the purposes of the Rule, regardless of where they live.  Read More ›

Categories: HIPAA, Privacy

Posted by: Julie LaVille Hamlet

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HIPAA Deadline Quickly Approaching – Are your Business Associate Agreements Up To Date?

The Final HIPAA Omnibus Rule ("Final Rule"), published January 25, 2013, contains several new requirements for business associate ("BA") agreements. While the requirements went into effect on September 23, 2013, grandfathered BA agreements that were in place prior to January 25, 2013 were deemed to be in compliance for one year. Now that the one year expiration of the deemed compliance is quickly approaching, covered entities and business associates must ensure that their grandfathered BA agreements are updated to comply with the Final Rule before the September 22, 2014 deadline.

To meet the deadline, covered entities and business associates should review and update all existing BA agreements to determine whether they are HIPAA-compliant. The Final Rule also requires business associates to have written BA agreements with their subcontractors that comply with the new requirements. Read More ›

Categories: Compliance, HIPAA

Posted by: Julie LaVille Hamlet

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Dumping Medical Records Results in $800,000 HIPAA Fine for Health Care System

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently announced that it reached a resolution agreement with a health care system in connection with alleged violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Protection Act of 1996 (HIPAA). Pursuant to the settlement, Parkview Health System, Inc. (Parkview) agreed to adopt a corrective action plan (CAP) to address deficiencies in its compliance program and to pay $800,000. 

As explained by OCR in a news release, Parkview, a covered entity under the HIPAA Privacy Rule, took custody of medical records of approximately 5,000 to 8,000 patients while assisting a retiring physician to transition patients to new providers, and while considering the purchase of some of the physician’s practice. Subsequently, Parkview employees, with notice that the physician was not at home, left 71 cardboard boxes full of medical records unattended and accessible to unauthorized persons on the driveway of the physician’s home. The physician complained, prompting the HHS investigation. Read More ›

Categories: Compliance, HIPAA, Providers

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IT Contract Review

As health care providers continue to increase their use of technology, they are asked more and more frequently to enter into software or other IT contracts.  While many health care providers sign these agreements without reviewing them, doing so can create unwanted liability and unexpected problems. 

These issues were the topic of a recent State Bar of Michigan Health Care Law Section Webinar entitled “Software Licenses: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You.” Sam Frederick from Foster Swift was a featured speaker.  His presentation discussed important revisions that should be made to software provisions, as well as the consequences for relying on certain boilerplate provisions. In addition, health care providers must require that their software vendors with access to protected health information sign Business Associate Agreements.  While many software agreements have business associate-like provisions included in them, they often do not meet all of the required elements under HIPAA.  This exposes the health care provider to liability.

In summary, health care providers should have their attorney review any software or IT contracts presented to them and require that their vendors execute Business Associate Agreements.  For assistance with this matters, please contact Sam Frederick at (517) 371-8103 or sfrederick@fosterswift.com 

Categories: HIPAA, Providers

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HIPAA Compliance: Conducting a Risk Assessment

Maybe you have determined you're a Business Associate (or a subcontractor of a Business Associate) or maybe you’re a Covered Entity for purposes of HIPAA and have not gotten around to conducting or updating your risk assessment. Now is the time to do it.

HIPAA requires that Covered Entities, Business Associates, and subcontractors of Business Associates “[i]mplement policies and procedures to prevent, detect, contain, and correct security violations.” (45 CFR § 164.308(a)(1)). In order to fulfill these requirements, all entities subject to HIPAA’s Security Rule must run a risk assessment. A risk assessment is a “thorough assessment of the potential risks and vulnerabilities to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of electronic protected health information.” In the past, some of the largest penalties have been assessed against entities that had failed to conduct a proper risk assessment and subsequently experienced a breach. Read More ›

Categories: Compliance, HIPAA

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Foster Swift Attorneys Attend Annual Health Law Institute

Foster Swift health care attorneys are getting ready to attend the 20^th Annual Health Law Institute March 6 and 7. The Institute provides attorneys with the opportunity to learn about the most recent statutory, regulatory, and case law developments in the health care industry. Co-sponsored by the Health Care Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan, this educational opportunity offers a range of presentations from numerous leaders in the health care legal community. Read More ›

Categories: Health Insurance Exchange, HIPAA, Medicare/Medicaid, Regulatory

Posted by: Mindi M. Johnson

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