"Tracking technologies are used to collect and analyze information about how users interact with regulated entities' websites or mobile applications ... The HIPAA Rules apply when the information that regulated entities collect through tracking technologies or disclose to tracking technology vendors includes protected health information (PHI).... This Bulletin provides a general overview of how the HIPAA Rules apply to regulated entities' use of tracking technologies."  MORE >>

"Q1: Will CMS enforce the requirement that GFEs for uninsured (or self-pay) individuals include cost estimates from co-providers and co-facilities beginning on January 1, 2023? A1: No."  MORE >>

"Some regulated entities regularly share electronic protected health information (ePHI) with online tracking technology vendors ... The bulletin explains what tracking technologies are, how they are used, and what steps regulated entities must take to protect ePHI when using tracking technologies to comply with the HIPAA Rules."  MORE >>

"The Departments ... will not take enforcement action against the plan sponsor if the average monthly premium paid by employers and employees (Columns E and F) is not included on the D1 for the 2020 and 2021 reporting period, as long as the information is provided for 2022 and beyond. However, no such relief exists for reporting the premium equivalent (Column I). As this is the total cost of providing the health benefits, a plan sponsor with carved-out benefits will likely need to provide this data. If the TPA will not intake the data, the D1 filed by the TPA will be incomplete."  MORE >>

"September decision by Judge Reed O'Connor, a federal district judge in Texas, struck down part of the [ACA's] preventive coverage mandate. But this ruling isn't likely to lead employers to impose co-insurance payments for certain preventive goods and services they are now bound to cover in full, health policy analysts say."  MORE >>

"This white paper summarizes a study examining what proportion of commercially insured members typically use the services that a DPC model can address and the typical claim costs associated with those services in a commercially insured large-employer group population. The results showed that [the] services make up only a fraction of the total allowed cost of care, but that these services were used by the vast majority of the population utilizing the healthcare system."  MORE >>

"More than half of health care payments in the US are still based on fee-for-service. Savings attributable to ACOs range from just less than 1 percent to just more than 6 percent of per person spending. The effects of bundled payments vary across procedures and patient populations."  MORE >>

"In late September 2022, health care providers in Texas sued the Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services (collectively, the Departments) over a recently issued final rule implementing the federal No Surprises Act (the NSA). The case marks the second time within a year that the Departments' rulemaking under the NSA has come under fire from provider groups. The current case challenges the revised arbitration provisions of the new rule."  MORE >>

"Many expect the outcomes of these lawsuits to clarify the standards for a successful parity claim and what remedies plaintiffs can seek under the Parity Act."  MORE >>