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HHS
Launches Website and Proposed Rules on Health Information Privacy
The
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced
new proposed rules and resources aimed at strengthening the privacy
of health information, and helping individuals understand their rights
and the resources available to safeguard their personal health data.
Through the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical
Health (HITECH) Act, current health information privacy and security
rules will now include broader individual rights and stronger protections
when third parties handle individually identifiable health information.
According
to HHS, the proposed rule would strengthen and expand enforcement of the
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)
Privacy, Security, and Enforcement Rules by:
- Expanding
individuals' rights to access their information and to restrict
certain types of disclosures of protected health information to
health plans;
- Requiring
business associates of HIPAA-covered entities to be under most of
the same rules as the covered entities;
- Setting
new limitations on the use and disclosure of protected health
information for marketing and fundraising; and
- Prohibiting
the sale of protected health information without patient
authorization
New
Privacy Website Launched by HHS
HHS has
also launched a privacy
website, to help visitors easily access information about existing
HHS privacy efforts and the policies supporting them. The site covers
privacy in the collection, use, and exchange of personally identifiable
information. This new resource is meant to provide individuals with
confidence that their personal information is secure and underscore HHS'
goal of greater openness and transparency in government. To visit the new
HHS privacy site, please click here.
To
view the HHS press release, please click
here. To view the proposed rules, click here.
For more on the HITECH Act and HIPAA, please visit the HR & Benefits
Essentials HITECH Act Section by clicking
here.
OSHA
Proposes Rule to Revise Safety and Health Standards
The
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued a proposed
rule and request for comments on its efforts to remove or revise
outdated, duplicative, unnecessary, and inconsistent requirements in its
safety and health standards. The proposed rule is aimed at building on
the Standards Improvement Project (SIP) - Phase I published on June 18,
1998, and SIP - Phase II published on Jan. 5, 2005. OSHA intends that the
proposed revisions will reduce compliance costs, eliminate paperwork
burdens, and clarify requirements without diminishing worker protections.
Comments
and hearing requests must be submitted by Sept. 30, 2010. You can submit
comments electronically at regulations.gov.
To view the proposed rule, please click here.
New
Rules on Health Plan Appeals Released
New rules
issued by the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and
Treasury are aimed at standardizing internal and external processes for
individuals to appeal decisions made by health plans. The rules provide
individuals with the following:
- The right
to appeal decisions made by their health plan through the plan's
internal process; and
- The right
to appeal decisions made by their health plan to an outside,
independent decision-maker, regardless of the State or health plan.
Note
that these new rules do not apply to grandfathered plans, which include
those plans which were in place on March 23, 2010. For more on what your
health plan must do to maintain grandfathered status, please click
here.
For
more on these appeals rules, you can view a newly released Fact Sheet by clicking
here. To view the rules, click here.
To learn more about the Affordable Care Act, you can also visit the HR
& Benefits Essentials Health
Care Reform Section by clicking
here.
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Health Reform: List of
Preventive Services without Cost-Sharing Released
 The Departments of Health and Human
Services (HHS), Labor, and Treasury issued interim
final regulations requiring new plans and issuers to cover certain
preventive services without any cost-sharing requirements when delivered
by network providers. Cost-sharing includes out-of-pocket costs like
deductibles, co-payments and co-insurance. Employers should note that these
required preventive services do not apply to grandfathered plans.
Under
the new rules, services recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task
Force (USPSTF) will generally be required to be provided without
cost-sharing when delivered by an in-network provider in the plan years
that begin on or after September 23, 2010 (except grandfathered plans).
For recommendations that have been in effect for less than one year,
plans and issuers will have one year from the effective date to comply.
Thus, recommendations and guidelines issued prior to September 23, 2009
must be provided for plan years beginning on or after September 23, 2010.
Recommendations
of the USPSTF appear in a released chart, which can be accessed by clicking
here.
Preventive
Services to Be Covered without Cost-Sharing
HHS
reports that under the new rules, depending on age and plan type,
individuals may have easier access to the following preventive services:
- Blood
pressure, diabetes, and cholesterol tests
- Cancer
screenings, including mammograms and colonoscopies
- Flu and
pneumonia shots
- Routine
vaccines ranging from routine childhood immunizations to periodic
tetanus shots for adults, including diseases such as measles, polio,
or meningitis
- Counseling
from health care providers on such topics as quitting smoking,
losing weight, eating better, treating depression, and reducing
alcohol use
- Counseling,
screening and vaccines for healthy pregnancies
- Regular
well-baby and well-child visits, from birth to age 21
The
interim final regulations also make clear that a plan or issuer is not
required to provide coverage or waive cost-sharing requirements for any
item or service that has ceased to be a recommended preventive service.
For example, if a recommendation of the USPSTF is downgraded from a
rating of A or B to a rating of C or D, or if a recommendation or
guideline no longer includes a particular item or service, the service is
not required to be provided without cost-sharing.
For
more on preventive services under the Affordable Care Act, please click
here, or view the chart of covered services by clicking
here. You can also view a list of covered services for adults, women
(including pregnancy) and children by clicking
here. To view the interim final regulations, please click
here. To learn more about changes to group health plans under the
Affordable Care Act, including grandfathered plans, please visit the HR
& Benefits Essentials Health
Care Reform Section by clicking
here.
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Employment At-Will and Your
Company
 If you are thinking of terminating an
employee, it is vitally important to understand your company's rights and
obligations under 'employment at-will'.
Employment
at-will means that, generally, absent a statute or express agreement to
the contrary (such as an individual or union contract), employers may
discharge an employee for any reason, or no reason at all, at any time
and without advance notice. Employees have equal freedom to terminate the
employment relationship under employment at-will. Almost all states in
the U.S. follow the traditional legal framework of employment at-will.
[Please Note: States have their
own exceptions to employment at-will, and potential discrimination issues
that can result in employee termination lawsuits. We strongly advise you
to consult an employment law attorney who knows your state labor laws for
guidance on your employment at-will policy and any termination issues you
may have.]
Federal
law and States, however, have restricted the breadth of employment
at-will. Federal law, for example, prohibits discrimination
in employment on the basis of race, color, sex (including pregnancy),
age, national origin, disability, religion, genetic information and
military service (including the intent to serve). Since all employees in
your company could be members of a protected class, (for example, based
on sex or race), the practical effect of nondiscrimination laws can make
terminations a potentially problem-filled area. Leave properly taken
under the Family and Medical Leave Act is also protected employee
activity under federal law.
States,
through legislation and the courts, also impose exceptions to employment
at-will to varying degrees. Common exceptions include:
- Public
policy exceptions, such as an employee's exercise of statutory rights,
or the employee's refusal to engage in illegal activity
- An implied
promise to deal fairly and in good faith with an employee
- Contracts
of employment that are implied orally or by an employer's actions,
versus a written or express agreement
To
gain a full understanding of your rights and responsibilities as an
employer, it is important to consult the state and local laws where your
business operates. Some states may have many of their own exceptions to
employment at-will, while others may have nearly none. For a thorough
overview, seek the advice of local employment counsel.
Use
a Clear and Prominent Disclaimer Stating Your Employment At-Will Policy
in Your Employee Handbook
If you
distribute an employee handbook, it is important to have a clear and
prominent disclaimer employees will see stating that the employment
relationship is 'at will' to the extent permitted by law.
Courts
have concluded that handbooks that do not have a proper
employment-at-will disclaimer may give employees reasonable expectations
of continued employment. These expectations can create contractual
obligations for the employer. And, even with a clear and prominent
disclaimer, the handbook should not make any promises to the contrary of
the employment at-will statement. Such explicit promises can create an
employer contractual obligation in spite of a general statement of
employment at-will.
Have
Local Employment Counsel Review Your Handbook
As with
learning about employment at-will in your state, it is important to have
local employment counsel review your company's actual handbook. Proper
'at-will' statements, disclaimers and other contract issues arising out
of employee handbooks vary from state to state. Thus, be sure to consult
an employment attorney who is knowledgeable with employee handbook
requirements in your jurisdiction.
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Website Launches for Small
Business Emergency Preparedness Plans
 The U.S. Small
Business Administration (SBA) has launched a new website to help small
businesses develop an emergency preparedness plan.
In an
effort to encourage businesses to plan ahead, the SBA and Agility
Recovery Solutions have launched the Prepare
My Business (www.preparemybusiness.org)
web site. Prepare My
Business provides tips on how small business owners can
develop their own disaster preparedness plans, and features interactive
tools such as monthly webinars on business continuity planning.
Preparing
for Common Everyday Events
Prepare
My Business
covers preparation for major disasters, such as earthquakes and flooding,
as well as common everyday events such as server failure, burst pipes and
power outages - all of which can be equally devastating for a small
business.
Among
other steps for disaster preparedness, the SBA recommends the following:
- A written
emergency response plan
- Adequate
insurance
- Making
copies of important records
- A
'Disaster Survival Kit'
The
user-friendly site (www.preparemybusiness.org)
is broken down into four key actionable elements of disaster preparedness
and recovery - Planning, Education, Testing and Disaster Assistance.
The
SBA advises that in addition to the Prepare
My Business site, more preparedness tips for businesses,
homeowners and renters are available on the SBA's Web site at www.sba.gov/disasterassistance.
To learn more about developing an emergency plan, visit the Federal
Emergency Management Agency's Web site Ready.gov
or call 1-800-BE-READY to receive free materials. You can also visit the
U.S. Department of Labor's Disaster Recovery Assistance page, which links
to DisasterAssistance.gov,
a federal government site that provides access to disaster help and
resources.
IRS
Tips on Preparing for a Disaster
On July
12, 2010, the IRS released Summertime
Tax Tip 2010-03, 'Four Tips on Preparing for a Disaster.' This Tax
Tip encourages taxpayers to safeguard their records by taking a few
important steps. Specifically, the IRS urges:
- Using
paperless recordkeeping
- Documenting
valuables
- Updating emergency
plans
- Seeking
IRS help in the event of destroyed records
The
Tax Tip also links to disaster-related IRS forms; Publication 584
- Casualty, Disaster, and Theft Loss Workbook for personal-use property;
and Preparing
for a Disaster for Taxpayers and Businesses. To view Tax Tip 2010-03,
please click
here.
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DOL Issues New Interpretation of
'Son or Daughter' Under Family and Medical Leave Act
 The U.S.
Department of Labor (DOL) has clarified
the definition of 'son or daughter' under the Family and Medical Leave
Act to ensure that an employee who assumes the role of caring for a
child receives parental rights to family leave, regardless of the legal
or biological relationship.
The FMLA
allows workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month
period to care for loved ones or themselves. The 1993 law also allows
employees to take time off for the adoption or the birth of a child. An
administrative interpretation issued by the DOL's Wage and Hour Division
clarified that these rights, which provide work-family balance, extend to
various parenting relationships, including families in the
lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender community.
You
can view the administrative interpretation by clicking
here. For more information on the FMLA and the administrative
interpretation, visit the Wage and Hour Division's website, http://www.dol.gov/whd, or call the
division's toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). To view the DOL
press release, please click here.
To visit the HR & Benefits Essentials FMLA Section, please click
here.
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