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Hamilton Headlines
March 4, 2016
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HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Audit Program
As a part of its continued efforts to assess compliance with the HIPAA Privacy, Security and Breach Notification Rules, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has begun its next phase of audits of covered entities and their business associates. Audits are an important compliance tool for OCR that supplements OCR's other enforcement tools, such as complaint investigations and compliance reviews. These tools enable OCR to identify best practices and proactively uncover and address risks and vulnerabilities to protected health information (PHI).
In its 2016 Phase 2 HIPAA Audit Program, OCR will review the policies and procedures adopted and employed by covered entities and their business associates to meet selected standards and implementation specifications of the Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules. These audits will primarily be desk audits, although some on-site audits will be conducted.
The 2016 audit process begins with verification of an entity's address and contact information. An email is being sent to covered entities and business associates requesting that contact information be provided to OCR in a timely manner. OCR will then transmit a pre-audit questionnaire to gather data about the size, type, and operations of potential auditees; this data will be used with other information to create potential audit subject pools.
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SPECIAL NEWS UPDATES Correcting ACA Reporting Errors
Employers Should Correct Errors As Soon As Possible
With the Affordable Care Act information reporting deadlines for the 2015 calendar year approaching, employers should confirm the accuracy of all information returns and correct any errors as soon as possible with both the IRS and their employees.
Errors on Forms 1094-C and 1095-C
As a reminder, Forms 1094-C and 1095-C are used by applicable large employers to satisfy their reporting obligations. To correct information on the paper version of the original Authoritative Transmittal Form 1094-C, employers should take the following steps:
* Prepare a new authoritative Form 1094-C including the correct information
* Enter an "X" in the CORRECTED checkbox at the top of the form
* File the standalone corrected authoritative Form 1094-C with the IRS
If correcting information on the paper version of a Form 1095-C that was previously filed with the IRS, employers should:
Continue Reading
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IRS-SSA-CMS Data Match
Congress enacted a law (Section 6202 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989) to provide CMS with better information about Medicare beneficiaries' group health plan (GHP) coverage. The law requires the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Social Security Administration (SSA), and CMS to share information that each agency has about whether Medicare beneficiaries or their spouses are working. The process for sharing this information is called the IRS-SSA-CMS Data Match. The purpose of the Data Match is to identify situations where another payer may be primary to Medicare.
Employers are required to complete a questionnaire that requests GHP information on identified workers who are either entitled to Medicare or married to a Medicare beneficiary. This information is used to identify the primary and secondary payers for medical services provided to a Medicare beneficiary. This process helps Medicare identify claims on an ongoing basis for which Medicare should not be the primary payer.
The Data Match Project has saved the Medicare Trust Funds more than 3.5 billion dollars to date.
Reporting Requirements of Data Match
Employers must provide CMS with information regarding health coverage of their Medicare-eligible workers and spouses of Medicare-eligible individuals whenever CMS identifies those individuals to the employer.
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CMS Finalizes Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Parity Rule for Medicaid and CHIP
In conjunction with the President's visit to the National Rx Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today finalized a rule to strengthen access to mental health and substance use services for people with Medicaid or Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage, aligning with protections already required of private health plans. The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 generally requires that health insurance plans treat mental health and substance use disorder benefits on equal footing as medical and surgical benefits.
"The Affordable Care Act provided one of the largest expansions of mental health and substance use disorder coverage in a generation," HHS Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell said. "Today's rule eliminates a barrier to coverage for the millions of Americans who for too long faced a system that treated behavioral health as an unequal priority. It represents a critical step in our effort to ensure that everyone has access to the care they need.
"This rule will also increase access to evidence-based treatment to help more people get the help they need for their recovery and is critical in our comprehensive approach to addressing the serious opioid epidemic facing our nation."
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REMINDERS
Delays
Forms 1095-C were due to employees by March 31, 2016
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Forms 1094-C and 1095-C to be filed with the IRS by
May 31, 2016 (instead of February 29, 2016) or
June 30, 2016 (instead of March 31, 2016), if filing electronically.
--D.C. Commuter Benefit
The January 1, 2016 effective date has received a 90-day grace period. Employers must have benefits in place by
4/1/2016.
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Please note that Hamilton Insurance does not provide legal advice, and this does not constitute advice of any kind for any
particular situation. Instead, this is intended as non-comprehensive general information serving as a starting point for further
discussion. Please contact your tax and/or legal advisors for information about how these issues affect you.
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amilton Insurance
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Hamilton Insurance Agency
4100 Monument Corner Drive
Fairfax, Virginia 22030
p) 800.275.6087
f) 703.359.8108
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