Sparked by regulations issued under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), a body of law is emerging that will strictly govern the privacy and security of health information held by participants in the health care and insurance industries. Boult Cummings has formed a cross-disciplinary team of attorneys to assist clients who do business in these industries as they navigate these complex and evolving regulations. The attorneys who practice in this area are frequent lecturers and authors on the topic of health information privacy.

We counsel clients on transactional, regulatory and operational matters related to the HIPAA privacy and security standards. Among our clients are hospital systems, diagnostic facilities, ambulatory surgery centers, behavioral and mental health services providers, billing and copying service providers, medical practice management companies, physician-hospital organizations, group health plans and third-party administrators.

Our team provides on-site education, regulatory advice and assessment and development of policies and procedures. We also counsel clients on document development — including authorizations, notices of privacy policies, business associate contracts and health plan certifications — and we assist with the amendment of group health plan documents and preemption analyses.