Employers that sponsor group health plans for their employees should pay careful attention to the newly announced final omnibus rule amending HIPAA in accordance with the HITECH Act of 2009. This final rule under the HITECH Act, issued on January 17, 2013, impacts group health plans in two significant ways. Group health plan sponsors should act now to make changes to existing plan documents, including HIPAA procedures and business associate agreements, in response to the Final Rule.
Click here for an overview of how HIPAA generally applies in the context of employer-sponsored group health plans and these significant changes impacting group health plans.
Duane Morris is issuing a series of Alerts on the 2013 Amendments, including an Overview Summary of the HIPAA Amendments. Please see the in-depth Alerts already distributed by the firm on changes under the 2013 Amendments to the definition of a business associate, changes to the breach notification requirements and key details about the minimum necessary standard. We will continue to issue Alerts on discrete HIPAA topics.