HIPAA's Breach Notification Rules and Enforcement - Data Breaches Could Be Financial Disaster

Why Should You Attend:

New privacy and security regulations under HIPAA, reflecting the HITECH Act and GINA, are now effective and require all covered entities and business associates to have up-to-date policies and procedures, privacy notices, business associate agreements and conduct training.

The regulations have resulted in increased penalties for data breaches that could be a financial disaster for some organizations. Covered entities not only have to be in compliance themselves, they also need to make sure that their business associates are in compliance. Business associates and their subcontractors are now subject to rules that previously only applied to covered entities.

This webinar will explain HIPAA’s Breach Notification Rules including the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA).

Areas Covered in the Webinar:

• Review of the basics of HIPAA
• Privacy
• Security
• HITECH Act
• Law
• Regulations
• Business associate responsibilities
• Notice of privacy practices
• Penalties
• Unencrypted emails
• Definition of ‘unsecured’
• Definition of ‘breach’
• Business associate agreement provisions
• GINA
• Guidance regarding mobile devices

Who Will Benefit:

• HR professionals
• Compensation and benefits personnel
• Insurance agents and brokers
• Employee benefit consultants
• Group insurance representatives
• Compliance staff

Instructor Profile:

John Garner is chief compliance officer at Bolton & Company. Before joining Bolton, he was the principal of Garner Consulting in Pasadena, California. Prior to founding Garner Consulting, he was a principal in the Los Angeles office of Towers Perrin, where he worked for over ten years. Mr. Garner serves as the national legislative and government affairs advisor for the Disability Management Employer Coalition. He is a past chair of the CEBS Committee for the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans.

He is also a past member of the governing council of the International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists and is a past president of the Los Angeles Chapter. Mr. Garner has served as the president of the Employee Benefit Planning Association of Southern California, the Los Angeles Life and Accident Claim Association and the Western Claim Conference. He is the author of Health Insurance Answer Book and has also written articles that have appeared in numerous publications.

Mr. Garner has expertise in the area of cost containment and is an acknowledged expert in the field of compliance-particularly the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

Mr. Garner received his B.A. degree from Occidental College. He is a chartered life underwriter, a certified employee benefits specialist, a group benefit associate, retirement plans associate, a certified management consultant, and a certified flexible compensation instructor.

Topic Background:

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) imposes privacy and security requirements on all covered entities with regard to protected health information. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) made a number of changes to the HIPAA privacy and security rules, as did the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA).

There is now increased oversight by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The HHS is required to investigate complaints if a preliminary review indicates there may have been willful neglect. The HHS has the ability to proceed directly to enforcement actions without first attempting to achieve voluntary compliance. Covered entities and business associates now have less discretion in determining whether a data breach has taken place. The burden is on the covered entity or business associate to demonstrate through a risk assessment that there is a low probability that protected health information has been compromised. The HHS has launched a new education initiative and set of online tools to provide practical tips on ways to protect protected health information when using mobile devices such as laptops, tablets, and smart phones.

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