Last week, the U.S. Departments of Labor and Treasury issued a Joint Notice requiring the extension of certain benefit plan deadlines for individuals affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton and Tropical Storm Helene.[1] The deadline extensions echo relief issued during the COVID-19 pandemic, but apply to a more limited group of individuals. The
HIPAA/HITECH
HIPAA Reproductive Health Care Rule: HHS Publishes Model Attestation
By Katrina McCann & Amanda Karpovich on
As discussed in our prior blog post, on April 26, 2024, the Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) at the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) issued final regulations (“Reproductive Health Care Rule”) under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) limiting the uses and disclosures of protected health information (“PHI”) in…
Final HIPAA Privacy Rule Increases Protection of Reproductive Health Care Data
By Katrina McCann & Amanda Karpovich on
The Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) at the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) recently issued final regulations (“Reproductive Health Care Rule”) under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) that narrow the permitted uses and disclosures of protected health information (“PHI”) in the context of an individual seeking, obtaining, providing…
New Agency FAQs Drive a Stake Further into the Heart of Premium Reimbursement Arrangements and Eliminate a Common Executive Perk
By Damian A. Myers & Peter Marathas on
In clear and unambiguous terms, the U.S. Departments of Labor (“DOL”) and Health and Human Services and the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) (the “Agencies”) drove a stake into the heart of two suspect health insurance strategies that have been promoted to business owners across the country. In addition, the guidance may spell trouble for a common reimbursement strategy used by employers for executives and other key employees.