Recently, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights entered into a resolution agreement and record settlement of $16 million with Anthem, Inc. following Anthem’s 2015 data breach, the largest breach of protected health information in history that affected approximately 79 million individuals.
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Health Privacy
Judge Grants Final Approval of Record Data Breach Settlement in Anthem Class Action
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On August 15, 2018, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh signed an order granting final approval of the record 115 million dollar class action settlement agreed to by Anthem Inc. in June 2017. …
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OCR Issues Guidance on Disclosures to Family, Friends and Others
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Posted in Health Privacy, Information Security
In its most recent cybersecurity newsletter, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights provided guidance regarding identifying vulnerabilities and mitigating the associated risks on software used to process electronic protected health information.…
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Eleventh Circuit Vacates FTC Data Security Order
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On June 6, 2018, the Eleventh Circuit vacated a 2016 Federal Trade Commission order compelling LabMD to implement a “comprehensive information security program that is reasonably designed to protect the security, confidentiality, and integrity of personal information collected from or about consumers.” The Eleventh Circuit agreed with LabMD that the FTC order was unenforceable because it did not direct the company to stop any “unfair act or practice” within the meaning of Section 5a of the Federal Trade Commission Act.…
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HHS Publishes Advance Notices of Proposed Rulemaking on Accounting of Disclosures and Civil Monetary Penalties
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The Department of Health and Human Services recently published two advance notices of proposed rulemaking that address accounting of disclosures and the potential distribution of civil monetary penalties to affected individuals. …
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Unsecured PHI Leads to OCR Settlement with Closed Business
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On February 13, 2018, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights announced that it had entered into a resolution agreement with the receiver appointed to liquidate the assets of Filefax, Inc. in order to settle potential violations of HIPAA. …
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HHS Announces $3.5 Million Settlement with Fresenius Medical Care
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On February 1, 2018, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights announced a settlement with dialysis clinic operator, Fresenius Medical Care, for alleged lax security practices that led to breaches of protected health information. …
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Aetna Agrees to $1.15 Million Settlement with New York Attorney General
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On January 23, 2018, the New York Attorney General announced that Aetna Inc. agreed to pay 1.15 million dollars and enhance its privacy practices following an investigation alleging it risked revealing the HIV status of 2,460 New York residents by mailing them information in transparent window envelopes.…
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Cancer Center Settles with HHS for $2.3 Million over Data Breach
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On December 6, 2017, health care provider 21st Century Oncology agreed to pay 2.3 million dollars to settle charges by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights that its security practices led to a data breach involving patient information.…
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OCR Issues Guidance on Disclosures to Family, Friends and Others
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Posted in Health Privacy, Information Security
On October 3, 2017, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights issued an announcement clarifying when protected health information can be shared with family, friends and others.…
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