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HIPAA Compliant News Articles and Enforcement
Owner of Three Los Angeles Clinics Sentenced to 78 Months in Prison for Medicare Fraud
The former owner and operator of three medical clinics located in Los Angeles was sentenced today to 78 months in prison for his role in a scheme that submitted more than $4.5 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare. Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker…
Former Texas Healthcare Employee Facing Jail for Disclosure of Patient Health Information
A former employee of State of the Heart Cardiology in Grapevine, TX, has entered into a plea deal in a case filed against her for the improper disclosure of patient health information. Ebony Shonte Echols, 35, agreed to plead guilty to the wrongful disclosure of Protected Health Information of a patient in the hope that…
LifeLock to Pay $100 Million to Consumers to Settle FTC Charges it Violated 2010 Order
LifeLock will pay $100 million to settle Federal Trade Commission contempt charges that it violated the terms of a 2010 federal court order that requires the company to secure consumers’ personal information and prohibits the company from deceptive advertising. This is the largest monetary award obtained by the Commission in an order enforcement action. “This…
Owner Of Medical Billing Company Indicted On Health Care Fraud And Aggravated Identity Theft Charges For Stealing Millions From Medicaid
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A Charlotte grand jury has indicted Jason Adam Townsend, 39, of Raeford, N.C., on health care fraud and aggravated identity theft charges, in connection with a scheme that defrauded Medicaid of millions of dollars, announced Jill Westmoreland Rose, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. The 10-count indictment was unsealed…
$750,000 HIPAA FINE FOR UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON MEDICINE
University of Washington Medicine has agreed to settle with the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights, and will pay a HIPAA fine of $750,000 for potential HIPAA violations stemming from a 90,000-record data breach suffered in 2013 Flurry of HIPAA Enforcement Activity as 2015 Draws to a Close There has been…
Miami Resident Sentenced to 108 Months in Prison for Defrauding Medicare Part D
A Miami resident was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks to 108 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $20,988,632 in restitution. Wifredo Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Shimon Richmond, Special Agent in Charge, Health and Human Services,…
TWO THIRDS OF HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS LACK CONFIDENCE IN DATA SHARING
A recent survey conducted by Privacy Analytics, a Canadian technology firm specializing in data masking and data de-identification technology, indicates two out of three healthcare organizations do not have complete confidence in their ability to share patient health information without placing patient privacy at risk. HIPAA and Data Sharing Under the HIPAA Privacy Rule, covered…
Triple-S Management Corporation Settles HHS Charges by Agreeing to $3.5 Million HIPAA Settlement
Triple-S Management Corporation (“TRIPLE-S”), on behalf of its wholly owned subsidiaries, Triple-S Salud Inc., Triple-C Inc. and Triple-S Advantage Inc. , formerly known as American Health Medicare Inc., has agreed to settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy and Security Rules with the U.S. Department of Health…
Five New Cases of Healthcare Employee Theft Reported
Healthcare employee data theft is a common occurrence, yet it is difficult to prevent determined employees from stealing healthcare data. A number of safeguards can be put in place to reduce the opportunity for data theft, and controls can be implemented to ensure that instances of theft are rapidly identified, but it is impossible to…