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    The Health Lawyer - August 2020

    Vol. 32 No. 6  

    Health

    Chair's Column: What A Year

    By John H McEniry IV, Fagron North America, Fairhope, AL

    During the 2018-2019 Bar Year, the Health Law Section focused on the concept of servant leadership. Under the remarkable leadership of Alexandria McCombs, we looked within to assess what motivated us to be leaders in our profession, in our communities, and in the Section. We left that year with a renewed sense of focus and excitement about serving the Section and, by extension, serving others through the work of the Section. The Section had great momentum as we rode that wave of excitement into the 2019-2020 Bar Year.

    Featured Articles

    Health

    Can HIPAA be Saved? The Continuing Relevance and Evolution of Healthcare Privacy and Security Standards

    By Roy Wyman, Esq., Nelson Mullins, Nashville, TN

    While technology has radically impacted healthcare in the United States for decades, COVID-19 is further forcing major restructuring of the healthcare system and impacting the privacy of patient information and IT security. Important changes to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) regulations are desperately needed.

    Health

    Hospice Providers Remain Squarely in Government’s Enforcement Crosshairs

    By Scott R. Grubman, Esq., Chilivis Grubman Dalbey & Warner, Atlanta, GA

    On July 8, 2020, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida announced that Hope Hospice agreed to pay $3.2 million to resolve a qui tam whistleblower action under the federal False Claims Act (FCA). The settlement resolved allegations that Hope Hospice knowingly submitted false claims to Medicare for hospice services for patients who were not terminally ill.

    Health

    Ransomware – The Legal Impacts

    By Thomas J. Shaw, Esq., DPO Services, Ireland

    Ransomware attacks are seemingly popping up everywhere these days. Lawyers and law firms are a prized target for threat actors, due to the significant amount of sensitive information they hold from and about their clients. Ransomware incident response firm Coveware states that “Small and medium sized professional service firms such as law firms, IT managed service providers and CPA firms continued to be the largest industry subset targeted by ransomware in Q1 2020.”