WVHCA: 2010 CON Capital Expenditure Minimum
The West Virginia Health Care Authority announced that the capital expenditure minimum for calendar year 2010 is $2,767,500.
The capital expenditure minimum is typically used by the Authority when reviewing whether or not certain health relate projects require certificate of need review.
The Authority provided the following announcement via its website:
The capital expenditure minimum is typically used by the Authority when reviewing whether or not certain health relate projects require certificate of need review.
The Authority provided the following announcement via its website:
Pursuant to West Virginia Code §§ 16-2D-2(h) and (s), the Authority is required to adjust the expenditure minimum annually and publish an update of the amount on or before December 31 of each year. The expenditure minimum adjustment shall be based on the DRI inflation index published in the Global Insight DRI/WEFA Health Care Cost Review. The DRI inflation index as of December 31, 2009 is 2.5%.
The capital expenditure minimum for calendar year 2010 is $2,767,500.
State Attorney General HIPAA HITECH Enforcement
My health law colleague, David Harlow, covers the news today on the first HIPAA enforcement action taken by a state attorney general under the new HITECH provision of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).
David's post, HIPAA enforcement by state attorney general: The shape of things to come, provides a good summary of the announcement by the Connecticut Attorney General. More information via the Connecticut Attorney General press release.
The lawsuit filed by the Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal (coincidentally brother of David Blumenthal, National Coordinator of Health Information Technology) alleges that a health insurer, Health Net of Connecticut, Inc., failed to promptly notify the AG and other officials of a missing portable computer disk drive that contained unencrypted protected health information, Social Security numbers and bank accounts for approximately 446,000 individuals. The lawsuit also named UnitedHealth Group Inc. and Oxford Health Plans, LLC who acquired ownership of Health Net of Connecticut. The action also seeks a court order against Health Net to encrypt all information held on electronic devices.
Since the early days of HIPAA implementation and compliance there has largely been a lack of real enforcement efforts. The new provisions under HITECH allowing state attorney generals to file HIPAA enforcement actions on behalf of the public bring a new era of enforcement against health care providers who are unfortunate to have a health data breach and fail to properly respond to such breach in a timely manner.
David offers some good advice and takeaway points to health care providers and others who regularly handle health information. It is not enough to have policies and procedures in place but to regularly monitor whether they are being followed. Today's health data is liquid and it can flow in many directions. Providers need to understand where and how data is stored, used and transferred.
David's post, HIPAA enforcement by state attorney general: The shape of things to come, provides a good summary of the announcement by the Connecticut Attorney General. More information via the Connecticut Attorney General press release.
The lawsuit filed by the Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal (coincidentally brother of David Blumenthal, National Coordinator of Health Information Technology) alleges that a health insurer, Health Net of Connecticut, Inc., failed to promptly notify the AG and other officials of a missing portable computer disk drive that contained unencrypted protected health information, Social Security numbers and bank accounts for approximately 446,000 individuals. The lawsuit also named UnitedHealth Group Inc. and Oxford Health Plans, LLC who acquired ownership of Health Net of Connecticut. The action also seeks a court order against Health Net to encrypt all information held on electronic devices.
Since the early days of HIPAA implementation and compliance there has largely been a lack of real enforcement efforts. The new provisions under HITECH allowing state attorney generals to file HIPAA enforcement actions on behalf of the public bring a new era of enforcement against health care providers who are unfortunate to have a health data breach and fail to properly respond to such breach in a timely manner.
David offers some good advice and takeaway points to health care providers and others who regularly handle health information. It is not enough to have policies and procedures in place but to regularly monitor whether they are being followed. Today's health data is liquid and it can flow in many directions. Providers need to understand where and how data is stored, used and transferred.
HISPC Reports on State Health Information Law, Business Practice and Policy
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has made available a compendium of reports which detail variations in state health information law, business practices and policy related to privacy and security of health information and the electronic exchange of health information.
The reports were developed in 2009 as a part of the ongoing efforts of the Health Information Security and Privacy Collaboration (HISPC) that started in 2006 when I had the the opportunity to work on the initial round of HISPC work as it related to West Virginia. The efforts by HISPC was to take a national look (at a state level) on the privacy and security challenges faced by the variation of state laws, policies and practices.
The reports will be a great resource for those who regularly look at state health information legal issues. Following are the summaries of the five reports along with links to the various tables/appendices:
The reports were developed in 2009 as a part of the ongoing efforts of the Health Information Security and Privacy Collaboration (HISPC) that started in 2006 when I had the the opportunity to work on the initial round of HISPC work as it related to West Virginia. The efforts by HISPC was to take a national look (at a state level) on the privacy and security challenges faced by the variation of state laws, policies and practices.
The reports will be a great resource for those who regularly look at state health information legal issues. Following are the summaries of the five reports along with links to the various tables/appendices:
- Report on State Medical Record Access Laws This report analyzes state laws that are intended to require health care providers (specifically, medical doctors and hospitals) to afford individuals access to their own health information and to identify potential barriers to the electronic exchange of health information. Specific state law provisions examined: scope of medical records to which patients are afforded access, format of information furnished, deadlines for responding to requests, fees for furnishing copies, record retention laws and access to records of minors.
- Report on State Law Requirements for Patient Permission to Disclose Health Information In Phase I of the HISPC project a majority of participants reported significant variation in the business practices and policies surrounding the need for and process of obtaining patient permission to use and disclose personal health information for a variety of purposes, including for treatment. This report furthers the initial work of this project by collating and analyzing state laws that govern the disclosure of identifiable health information for treatment purposes to identify commonalities and differences.
- Releasing Clinical Laboratory Test Results: Report on Survey of State Laws For this report, state statutes and regulations were analyzed to determine to whom clinical laboratories may release test results. This report focused on clinical laboratory and hospital licensing laws (that contain standards for hospital laboratories). It also examined general state medical record access laws to determine whether they provided an avenue for patients to access their clinical laboratory results directly.
- Report on State Prescribing Laws: Implications for e-Prescribing This report identifies and analyzes the impact and variation of state laws related to e-prescribing. The report addresses state laws related to the e-prescribing of controlled and non-controlled substances as well as topics such as record keeping and content requirements, out-of-state prescriptions, and generic substitution laws.
- Perspectives on Patient Matching: Approaches, Findings, and Challenges This report analyzes various approaches to matching patients to their health information in the context of electronic health information exchange. Current and potential methods for matching patients to their health records are discussed, challenges to performing patient matching such as scalability and ease of use are analyzed, and the types of information some HIOs use to match patients to their health records is described.
West Virginia Law Review: Call for Scholarly Health Care Articles
Over the weekend I received an email from Todd Bergstrom, Executive Editor of the West Virginia Law Review announcing a "Call for Articles" for an upcoming issue of the West Virginia Law Review focusing on health care.
Great to see the law review staff looking at the social disparities in access and outcomes that exist in our current health care system. I hope that some of my fellow health care policy and legal colleagues will consider submitting a article for consideration.
The West Virginia Law Review recently announcement the launch of its new website, including a blog. I look forward to following posts from the College of Law.
Todd asked that I post the following announcement with details on submitting an article for consideration.
Great to see the law review staff looking at the social disparities in access and outcomes that exist in our current health care system. I hope that some of my fellow health care policy and legal colleagues will consider submitting a article for consideration.
The West Virginia Law Review recently announcement the launch of its new website, including a blog. I look forward to following posts from the College of Law.
Todd asked that I post the following announcement with details on submitting an article for consideration.
The West Virginia Law Review announces a call for articles and invites scholars, practitioners, and researchers to submit contributions for its upcoming issue focusing on health care. This issue will include articles from the Law Review’s Lecture Series, “Beyond Politics: A Discussion of Health Care in America,” a thoughtful discourse on the social disparities in access and outcomes engrained in our current health care system. For this issue, we are particularly interested in scholarship discussing the following topics:Articles will be selected by our Articles Selection Team and the Editor-in-Chief based on scholarly merit, originality, relevancy, and writing style. Articles should be thoroughly researched and contain appropriate footnotes in bluebook format. Please submit articles electronically to wvlrev@mail.wvu.edu by June 30, 2010. Any questions regarding the call for articles or article submissions generally should be sent to wvlrev@mail.wvu.edu.
- Health care reform;
- Health care access and outcome disparities, especially as they affect women and children, racial minorities, and the rural poor;
- Health care as a human right;
West Virginia Law Review Staff
WV Law Blog: Welcome BR Employment Law Blog
A welcome to West Virginia's newest law blog, BR Employment Law Blog, by the Bowles Rice Employment Law Group. The blog plans to provide information useful for employers with an emphasize on news from the region of West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia and Maryland.
The team of employment law bloggers at Bowles Rice is lead by Beth Walker, a partner in the Charleston office who focuses her practice on labor and employment law.
Congratulations on the launch and welcome to the blogosphere!
The team of employment law bloggers at Bowles Rice is lead by Beth Walker, a partner in the Charleston office who focuses her practice on labor and employment law.
Congratulations on the launch and welcome to the blogosphere!
