In 2021, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) proposed a significant revision to the Privacy Rule under the Health Insurance Portability and Accessibility Act of 1996 (HIPAA). These changes, currently in the form of Proposed Rules, are expected to markedly alter the existing regulations.
The Proposed Rules are slated for finalization in 2023, and it’s essential for legal professionals working in corporations or law firms who deal with health insurance law or health care providers that they stay abreast of these developments. The finalized regulations, once in effect, will necessitate a swift response from relevant stakeholders – particularly, entities covered under the HIPAA law such as group health plans and health care providers. These entities will be given a relatively short 180 days lead time to implement all requisite changes.
Legal professionals specialized in health care law need to keep in mind that failure to adapt to these changes on time may potentially result in non-compliance with federal law.
While no further details are available at this juncture, the topic certainly warrants attention from all relevant parties, and we strongly recommend conducting ongoing research into the forthcoming legislative changes. It would be prudent to follow news from official government sources like the HHS as well as expert commentary from the field.
Additional in-depth coverage of the topic can be found here.