At The Podium

	Jim Prince

With changes in technology and data breaches on the rise, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights has stepped up its enforcement efforts as it relates to compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). While healthcare providers are the most frequent targets, sponsors of health plans are also at risk for investigations, audits, fines and penalties.

While speaking at the SouthWest Benefit Association’s 2017 Benefits Administration Workshop in Oklahoma City, McAfee & Taft employee benefits attorney Jim Prince reviews the critical steps health plan sponsors must take to secure protected health information (PHI) and maintain compliance with HIPAA’s Privacy and Security Rules. The presentation also covers what plan sponsors must do in the event of a data breach.

Topics include:

• OCR enforcement by the numbers, including a breakdown of the most common compliance issues
• Types of health plans that are subject to HIPAA
• Common employer scenarios involving health information
• Types of information covered by HIPAA
• The importance of obtaining signed business associate agreements
• Disclosure of PHI to plan participants’ representatives and family member
• What constitutes a HIPAA breach?
• Action steps that plan providers need to take in the event of a breach
• Individual rights to access, restrict and opportunity to amend PHI
• Procedures for safeguarding the security and privacy of PHI

SouthWest Benefits Association is a regional association of experienced professionals in the field of employee pension and welfare benefits. Members represent a wide range of specialties, including corporate human resources, benefit plan administration, financial management, investment counseling, trust administration, law, accounting, actuarial, health insurance, and pension and welfare consulting. Through an annual schedule of professional educational conferences and seminars, SWBA provides discussion of a wide range of issues confronting benefit professionals.