Health Law Blog

• HIPAA Fee Limitations for Record Requests

  Posted by Sarah Wilson | in Health Law Blog on Thursday, November 21, 2019

  The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) allows for patients to request copies of their own records, with a few limitations, but notably, the regulations also limit the amount a provider may charge for responding to the records request.

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• Iowa Dental Board Phone Scam

  Posted by Sarah Wilson | in Health Law Blog on Tuesday, October 29, 2019

  Phone scam targets dental providers, impersonating a dental board investigator.

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• Rental Deposit Provision of IURLTA Does Not Apply to Continuing Care Retirement Communities

  Posted by Thomas Johnson | in Health Law Blog on Tuesday, August 13, 2019

  The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled that the Iowa Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (IURLTA) does not apply to entrance fees of a continuing care retirement community.

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• Iowa Dental Board Releases Regulatory Update on Electronic Prescribing Mandate

  Posted by Sarah Wilson | in Health Law Blog on Thursday, August 8, 2019

  Regulatory update beginning January 1, 2020 all prescriptions, unless exempted, must be transmitted electronically.

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• Owning a Private Aircraft for Personal and Business Use

  Posted by Jonathan Napier | in Health Law Blog on Thursday, August 1, 2019

  Important legal, tax, and liability concerns that should be considered before purchasing a private aircraft for personal and/or business use.

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• The Contracting and Credentialing Process for New Dentists

  Posted by Jordan Nickerson | in Health Law Blog on Tuesday, July 9, 2019

  Recent dental graduates may overlook the fact that prior to patient interaction, they will likely be required to individually contract and credential as a participating dentist with insurance carriers accepted by their practice.

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• Physician Employment Contracting - Top Five Terms to Consider

  Posted by Michael Jenkins | in Health Law Blog on Thursday, June 13, 2019

  When working on physician employment contracts each year - getting things right on the front end creates a more satisfying work environment and allows the physician to concentrate on medicine instead of employment law. Here are the top five terms to consider when reviewing a physician employment agreement.

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• Governor Reynolds Fills Vacancy on State Health Facilities Council

  Posted by Adam Freed | in Health Law Blog on Thursday, May 30, 2019

  The State Health Facilities Council is a five-member board appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate that reviews, and approves or denies, Certificate of Need (CON) applications to establish or change certain institutional health services in the state.

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• Mandatory Reporters of Child and Dependent Adult Abuse Subject to New Training Requirements Effective July 1

  Posted by Adam Freed | in Health Law Blog on Friday, May 24, 2019

  Iowa law requires many health care professionals (and others) to report incidents of suspected abuse of children or of dependent adults.Significant changes were made to the mandatory reporter training requirements. The new law is scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2019.

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• Is it a Pet or an Assistance Animal

  Posted by Catherine Cownie | in Health Law Blog on Thursday, April 25, 2019

  In recent years, the number of requests for assistance and emotional support animals has increased significantly. Landlords and people managing senior housing facilities ignore or flatly deny such requests at their own peril.

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• OIG Begins Investigation into Medicaid Managed Care Denials

  Posted by Rebecca Brommel | in Health Law Blog on Monday, April 22, 2019

  The United States Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently announced that it is investigating denials by managed care organizations (MCOs) that contract with state Medicaid agencies.

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• UnitedHealthcare Withdraws as MCO

  Posted by Catherine Cownie | in Health Law Blog on Friday, March 29, 2019

  Today, March 29, 2019, DHS received notice from UnitedHealthcare that they would be leaving the IA Health Link program in the next several months

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• New Rules for ARNPs from the Iowa Board of Nursing

  Posted by Sarah Wilson | in Health Law Blog on Monday, February 11, 2019

  Advanced registered nurse practitioners (“ARNPs”) will soon have new Iowa Board of Nursing (“the Board”) rules to comply with. The rules, ARC 4132C, have been adopted by the Board; however, they are currently undergoing the rulemaking process and are not yet finalized.

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• The Struggle is Real: Collecting Payments for Nursing Home Care

  Posted by Rebecca Brommel | in Health Law Blog on Friday, January 18, 2019

  In recent years, we have seen an increase in nursing homes struggling to obtain payment for care provided to residents. Certainly, Iowa's elimination of the 90-day retroactivity for Medicaid coverage (which has now been reinstated for nursing home care) contributed to this to some extent, but the problem seems to occur more frequently than ever.

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• State Health Facilities Council Update - October 24, 2018

  Posted by Adam Freed | in Health Law Blog on Thursday, October 25, 2018

  The State Health Facilities Council met on October 24, 2018 and granted a certificate of need ("CON")to various projects.

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• Safeguarding the Privacy and Security of Health Information

  Posted by Sarah Wilson | in Health Law Blog on Friday, October 12, 2018

  Emerging and constantly evolving threats to the data of health care providers, health plans, and business associates give rise to frequently re-visiting an organization's policies, procedures, education, and employee training that address compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ("HIPAA").

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• Governor Signed SF2334 Into Law

  Posted by Catherine Cownie | in Health Law Blog on Thursday, April 12, 2018

  On April 2, 2018, the Governor signed SF2334 into law.

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• Limited English Proficiency Policies

  Posted by Sarah Wilson | in Health Law Blog on Friday, April 6, 2018

  Health care providers and other covered entities likely encounter individuals in their practice that are diverse in language, ethnicity, and religion. As communities continue to diversify, it is important for covered entities to understand their legal obligations to populations who may not speak English as a primary language.

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• Surrogacy Contracts Are Enforceable in Iowa

  Posted by Alice Helle | in Health Law Blog on Friday, March 2, 2018

  Iowa Supreme Court ruled that gestational surrogacy contracts are enforceable in Iowa.

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• Iowa's State Health Facilities Council Approves Over $6 Million of New Projects

  Posted by Adam Freed | in Health Law Blog on Friday, February 23, 2018

  The State Health Facilities Council (the "Council") met on February 21, 2018 and approved four extension requests for projects that previously received CONs.

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• Iowa Medicaid Providers Subject to Increased Scrutiny for Medicaid Overpayments

  Posted by Catherine Cownie | in Health Law Blog on Tuesday, February 20, 2018

  On January 23, 2018, the Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) announced that it will begin using statistical sampling to determine whether Iowa Medicaid providers have received overpayments from Iowa Medicaid Enterprise.

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• Iowa Certificate of Need Law Under Constitutional Attack

  Posted by Adam Freed | in Health Law Blog on Thursday, September 21, 2017

  Iowa has become the latest battleground in a nationwide effort to challenge state "certificate of need" laws. Since 1977, Iowa's certificate of need ("CON") law has required approval for any "new or changed institutional health service." The Iowa General Assembly enacted the CON law to avoid unnecessary duplication of healthcare services and to ensure access to critical healthcare services for people of all socioeconomic levels.

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• New Guidance on Dental Labs as Business Associates

  Posted by Adam Freed | in Health Law Blog on Friday, April 7, 2017

  In March 2017, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) confirmed that a dentist does not need to sign a business associate agreement with a dental lab when the dentist shares with the lab protected health information for purposes of treating patients.

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• Iowa Certificate of Need Becomes Focus of Iowa Legislature

  Posted by Catherine Cownie | in Health Law Blog on Friday, February 24, 2017

  Two bills have been introduced this week at the Iowa Legislature to significantly limit the scope of Iowa's Certificate of Need ("CON") Program.

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• Subpoena Response When Requesting Health Records

  Posted in Health Law Blog on Friday, February 24, 2017

  If you are a Covered Entity or a Business Associate and receive a subpoena, it is important to ensure that you undertake additional steps to ensure that you do not violate HIPAA when you release the requested information.

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• Updated HIPAA Privacy Rule Guidance

  Posted in Health Law Blog on Friday, February 24, 2017

  Earlier this year, in an effort to clarify previous guidance, the United States Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS") updated its guidance and FAQs on the interplay between HIPAA, state law, and the sharing of information with spouses, family members, loved ones, and personal representatives.

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• First of Its Kind HIPAA Enforcement Action

  Posted by in Health Law Blog on Monday, January 23, 2017

  On January 9, 2017, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS"), Office of Civil Rights ("OCR"), issued a Press Release outlining a recent settlement with the Presence Health Network based upon potential violations of the HIPAA Breach Notification Rules' requirements for the timely reporting of a breach. This is the first HIPAA enforcement action for an untimely report of a breach of unsecured protected health information.

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