Weigh in Now on Importance of HIPAA – Request for Information Responses Due Feb. 12

As previously shared by ANCOR, in December 2018 the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a Request for Information (RFI) on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which is the law governing “protected health information.” ANCOR members can view the RFI and submit a comment here. This is an important rule to providers because it governs how providers protect the information of the individuals they support. As such, ANCOR wants to bring two items to its members attention:

• The HHS deadline for responses to the HIPAA RFI is February 12. ANCOR has formed a member workgroup to prepare comments for submission – the workgroup will convene a call on Thursday, February 7 at 12PM ET. ANCOR members interested in learning more can contact Esme Grewal at [email protected].

• Politico Pro wrote last week that HHS might also issue a separate RFI on HIPAA specific to substance use in the near future: “HHS has issued requests for information on how to change the Stark Law, anti-kickback statute and HIPAA in an effort it’s referring to as a ‘Regulatory Sprint to Coordinated Care.’ The last RFI, which hasn’t yet been issued, will focus on 42 CFR Part 2, a regulation requiring explicit patient consent to share some substance use medical data.”