HEALTH SYSTEM PAYS $1.35 MILLION TO SETTLE EEOC DISABILITY SUIT

Princeton HealthCare System (PHCS), which operates an inpatient hospital and several outpatient medical facilities, will pay $1,350,000 and will undertake significant remedial measures to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

$800,000 HIPAA SETTLEMENT IN MEDICAL RECORDS DUMPING CASE

Parkview Health System, Inc. has agreed to settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR).  Parkview will pay $800,000 and adopt a corrective action plan to address deficiencies in its HIPAA compliance program.  Parkview is a nonprofit health care system that provides community-based health care services to individuals in northeast Indiana and northwest Ohio.

DRUG STORE CHAIN TO PAY $180,000 TO SETTLE EEOC DISABILITY SUIT

Drugstore giant Walgreens has agreed to pay $180,000 to a longtime employee with diabetes and to implement revised policies and training to settle a federal disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

CONFLICTING CIRCUIT COURT RULINGS ON ACA SUBSIDIES

Two Circuit courts have issued conflicting rulings on whether subsidies are available through the Federally-Facilitated Exchanges.  In ruling that the subsidy is not available, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit made a very specific decision not to block subsidies immediately, acknowledging that their decision will be appealed right away.

HHS GRANTS ACA RELIEF TO THE TERRITORIES

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has decided, based on the definition of “state” in title I of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act, that the following provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will not apply to individual or group health insurers in the U.S. territories: guaranteed availability, community rating, single risk pool, rate review, medical loss ratio, and essential health benefits.  Letters were sent to insurance commissioners in Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and American Samoa.

DOL POSTS FAQ REGARDING CONTRACEPTIVES COVERAGE CUTBACKS

The Department of Labor (DOL) has posted a new question and answer on its website regarding closely held corporations that wish to stop providing contraceptive coverage as a result of the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision.  The entire question and answer, with introduction, is copied below: