The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has extended the comment period for the proposed rule, “Administrative Simplification: Health Plan Certification of Compliance” to April 3, 2014 in hopes of receiving additional input from third party administrators (TPAs) and self-insured plans.
HHS is now accepting public comments on the proposed rule through April 3, 2014.
The Certification of Compliance for Health Plans proposed rule is different from previous Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Administrative Simplification regulations because it affects more and different types of entities.
For example, many third party administrators, self-funded health plans, and group health plans that have not been impacted by previous HIPAA Administrative Simplification requirements will be affected by this rule, even if they do not directly conduct HIPAA covered transactions.
The proposed rule would require controlling health plans to submit documentation on or before December 31, 2015. It would also establish penalty fees for a controlling health plan that fails to comply with the Certification of Compliance requirements.
HHS says the goal of the extension of the comment period is to provide self-insured health plans and their TPAs time to understand and offer feedback on the business impacts of the Certification of Compliance proposed rule. HHS encourages these entities to submit feedback so that their comments and suggestions can be considered during the policy-making process.
The proposed rules will require self-insured health plans and their TPAs to incur financial and operational expense to implement the necessary technology, data collection and other arrangements to come into compliance with the proposed rules. To help minimize these burdens to the extent possible, these and other concerned parties should review the rules and share their concerns and input as soon as possible. Accordingly, self-insured health plans, their sponsors, TPAs and advisors should review the proposed rules and provide relevant input as soon as possible and no later than the extended April 3, 2014 due date.
For Representation, Training & Other Resources
If you need assistance monitoring these and other regulatory policy, enforcement, litigation or other developments, or to review or respond to these or other workforce, benefits and compensation, performance and risk management, compliance, enforcement or management concerns, the author of this update, attorney Cynthia Marcotte Stamer may be able to help.
Board Certified in Labor & Employment Law, Past Chair of the ABA RPTE Employee Benefit & Other Compensation Arrangements Group, Co-Chair and Past Chair of the ABA RPTE Welfare Plan Committee, Vice Chair of the ABA TIPS Employee Benefit Plans Committee, Vice President of the North Texas Health Care Compliance Professionals Association, Past Chair of the ABA Health Law Section Managed Care & Insurance Section and the former Board Compliance Chair of the National Kidney Foundation of North Texas, Ms. Stamer has more than 25 years’ experience advising health plan and employee benefit, insurance, financial services, employer and health industry clients about these and other matters. Ms. Stamer has extensive experience advising and assisting health care providers, health plans, their business associates and other health industry clients to establish and administer medical privacy and other compliance and risk management policies, to health care industry investigation, enforcement and other compliance, public policy, regulatory, staffing, and other operations and risk management concerns. The scribe for the ABA JCEB Annual Agency Meeting with the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) for the past several years who has worked on medical and other privacy concerns throughout her career, she regularly designs and presents HIPAA and other risk management, compliance and other training for health plans, employers, health care providers, professional associations and others, defends covered entities and business associates against OCR, FTC and other privacy and data security investigations, serves as special counsel in litigation arising from these concerns and is the author of several highly regarded publications on HIPAA and other privacy and security concerns.
Ms. Stamer also regularly works with OCR, FTC, USSS, FBI and state and local law enforcement on privacy, data security, health care, benefits and insurance and other matters, publishes and speaks extensively on medical and other privacy and data security, health and managed care industry regulatory, staffing and human resources, compensation and benefits, technology, public policy, reimbursement and other operations and risk management concerns. Her publications and insights appear in the Health Care Compliance Association, Atlantic Information Service, Bureau of National Affairs, World At Work, The Wall Street Journal, Business Insurance, the Dallas Morning News, Modern Health Care, Managed Healthcare, Health Leaders, and a many other national and local publications. For instance, Ms. Stamer for the third year will serve as the appointed scribe for the ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits Agency meeting with OCR. Her insights on HIPAA risk management and compliance frequently appear in medical privacy related publications of a broad range of health care, health plan and other industry publications Among others, she has conducted privacy training for the Association of State & Territorial Health Plans (ASTHO), the Los Angeles Health Department, the American Bar Association, the Health Care Compliance Association, a multitude of health industry, health plan, insurance and financial services, education, employer employee benefit and other clients, trade and professional associations and others. You can get more information about her HIPAA and other experience here.
You can review other recent human resources, employee benefits and internal controls publications and resources and additional information about the employment, employee benefits and other experience of the Cynthia Marcotte Stamer, PC here. If you or someone else you know would like to receive future updates about developments on these and other concerns, please be sure that we have your current contact information – including your preferred e-mail – by creating or updating your profile www.cynthiastamer.com or by registering to participate in the distribution of these and other updates on our HR & Employee Benefits Update distributions here including:
- IRS Published Covered Compensation Table For 2014
- J.P. Morgan Chase Hit For $461M For Madoff-Related Bank Secrecy Act Violations
- Dermatology Practice To Pay $150K To Settle Charges It Breached HIPAA Breach Notice Rule
- Employer Faces $2M FLSA Lawsuit For Alleged Worker Misclassification
- Agencies Proposes To Treat Certain EAP, Dental and Vision Only Plans As ACA & HIPAA Excepted Benefits
- Businesses Performing Income, Payroll Tax Duties For Employers Confirm Compliance With Updated IRS Procedures
- IRS To Tax Health Insurers On Assessments To Cover ACA Section 9010 Annual Fee
If you or someone else you know would like to receive future updates about developments on these and other concerns, please be sure that we have your current contact information including your preferred e-mail by creating or updating your profile here. For important information concerning this communication click here. ©2014 Cynthia Marcotte Stamer. Limited, non-exclusive right to republished granted to Solutions Law Press, Inc. All other rights reserved.
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