A federal judge in Texas has vacated almost all of the 2024 HIPAA Rule to Support Reproductive Health Care Privacy that created special protections for reproductive health care information, finding that the U.S. Department of...more
6/26/2025
/ Abortion ,
Data Privacy ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fertility Treatments ,
Final Rules ,
Gender Identity ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
HIPAA Privacy Rule ,
Patient Access ,
Patient Privacy Rights ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues ,
Statutory Authority ,
Vacated ,
Women's Rights
On February 20, 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) took action pursuant to President Trump’s Executive Order 14187 (“EO 14187”), which is aimed at ending gender affirming care for minors. EO 14187...more
2/21/2025
/ Data Privacy ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Executive Orders ,
Gender Expression ,
Gender Identity ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
LGBTQ ,
Patient Access ,
Patient Privacy Rights ,
PHI ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues ,
Transgender ,
Trump Administration
‘Tis the season for holiday baking and the elves at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through its Office for Civil Rights (OCR), have been diligently crafting their own holiday treat. On December 27,...more
1/2/2025
/ Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
HIPAA Breach ,
HIPAA Security Rule ,
HIPAA Violations ,
Life Sciences ,
NPRM ,
OCR ,
PHI ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process
December 23, 2024, was the compliance deadline for HIPAA covered entities and business associates to apply the protections of the HIPAA Privacy Rule to support Reproductive Health Care Privacy Final Rule—that is all covered...more
As we settle into spooky season, let’s take a minute to consider a recent development in health care privacy as we ask ourselves, is this a trick or a treat?...more
10/11/2024
/ Data Management ,
Data Privacy ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Privacy Rule ,
Patient Privacy Rights ,
PHI ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues ,
State Attorneys General ,
Statutory Authority ,
Texas
On August 29, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) withdrew its appeal of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas’s (Court) June 20, 2024 decision in...more
On Thursday, June 20, 2024, a U.S. District Court Judge ruled that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights (“HHS”) overstepped its authority to act when issuing its December 2022 bulletin...more
Friendly reminder – the Washington My Health My Data Act (“WMHMDA”) compliance deadline for regulated entities to post their consumer health data privacy policy is March 31, 2024 (June 30, 2024 for small businesses). A...more
2/29/2024
/ Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
Patient Privacy Rights ,
Personal Data ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Posting Requirements ,
Washington
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released its anticipated Final Rule last week. The Final Rule revises...more
2/26/2024
/ CARES Act ,
Confidential Information ,
Consent ,
Data Management ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Electronic Medical Records ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Final Rules ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Mental Health ,
New Regulations ,
OCR ,
Patient Privacy Rights ,
PHI ,
SAMHSA ,
Substance Abuse
On February 12, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) published a notice in the Federal Register regarding reinstatement of the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”)...more
2/16/2024
/ Covered Entities ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Federal Register ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
HIPAA Audits ,
HIPAA Breach ,
HITECH Act ,
OCR ,
Patient Privacy Rights ,
PHI
Why is everyone talking about provider disclosures to law enforcement of late? The Senate Finance Committee authored a letter to Xavier Becerra, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), outlining...more
1/12/2024
/ Data-Sharing ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ,
Final Rules ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
Information Requests ,
Law Enforcement ,
Life Sciences ,
Patient Privacy Rights ,
PHI ,
Roe v Wade
This newsletter provides updates employers should be aware of heading into 2024, including an outline of the updated 2024 retirement and welfare plan limits, instructions related to the “gag order” attestation requirements...more
11/16/2023
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Data Privacy ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employees ,
Fiduciary ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Gag Clauses ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
Investment Adviser ,
Popular ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
This is Part Twelve, the final installment of our series of legal updates on the Washington My Health My Data Act (“WMHMDA”). We are thrilled that you came along as we dove into the intricacies of WMHMDA that are creating...more
8/30/2023
/ Cybersecurity ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
Patient Privacy Rights ,
Personal Data ,
PHI ,
Washington
This is Part Eleven in a series of legal updates on the Washington My Health My Data (“WMHMDA”), where Quarles continues its deep dive into the various factors and intricacies of WMHMDA that are creating waves in the privacy...more
8/23/2023
/ Cybersecurity ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
Patient Privacy Rights ,
Personal Data ,
PHI ,
Washington
This is Part Ten in a series of legal updates on the Washington My Health My Data Act (“WMHMDA”), where Quarles continues its deep dive into the various factors and intricacies of WMHMDA that are creating waves in the privacy...more
This is Part Three in a series of legal updates on the Washington My Health My Data Act (“WMHMDA”) where Quarles continues its deep dive into the various factors and intricacies of WMHMDA that are creating tidal waves in the...more
6/14/2023
/ Biometric Information ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Health Technology ,
Healthcare ,
Medical History ,
Mental Health ,
Personal Data ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular
This is Part Two in a series of legal updates on the Washington My Health My Data Act (“WMHMDA”) where Quarles is doing a deep dive into the various factors and intricacies of the Act that are shaping up to create a sea of...more
6/9/2023
/ B2B Organizations ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Security ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Geolocation ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
Life Sciences ,
Personal Data ,
Washington
While it is not officially summer, it is after Memorial Day, a.k.a. the perfect time to pick out your beach reads. We recommend bumping Quarles’ series on the Washington My Health My Data Act (“WMHMDA”) to the top of your...more
Effects to consumer health data collection and processing will be felt in Washington and beyond with new consumer rights and consent requirements as well as a private right of action....more
On April 12, 2023, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), aimed at strengthening the Health Insurance Portability and...more
The Biden Administration announced that the federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) will expire at the end of the day on May 11, 2023. As we draw closer to the expiration date of the PHE, do you feel fine about your...more
3/20/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Business Associates Agreement (BAA) ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Security ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
OCR ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine
As we settle in to 2023 and return to our “circle back in the new year” projects, it is a good time to catch up on data privacy and security updates from the end of 2022 and set priorities for 2023. To help you start the year...more
The long-awaited January 1, 2023 effective date of the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) has arrived and cannot be ignored or dismissed any longer. Many health care entities are aware of the Health Insurance Portability...more
While the federal substance use disorder regulations enjoyed decades without a single change, the federal government has been on a roll since 2017. The latest round of changes was recently announced by the U.S. Department of...more
Effective today, October 6, 2022, the Information Blocking Rule will expand in scope to prohibit interfering with access or exchange of information in a designated record set. With this expansion of the Information Blocking...more