Content by Marianne Kolbasuk McGee

HIPAA Change for Gun Checks Proposed

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  January 7, 2014

The Department of Health and Human Services has issued a proposal that aims to remove legal barriers under the HIPAA Privacy Rule that may prevent state agencies from reporting mental health information used for gun background checks.

Medicaid Card Mismailing Affects 49,000

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  January 7, 2014

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services recently mailed almost 49,000 Medicaid ID cards to the wrong recipients, its second breach incident reported in recent months.

GOP Plans HealthCare.gov Security Bill

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  January 3, 2014

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor plans to push new legislation aimed at bolstering the security of the HealthCare.gov website as part of a GOP call for "greater transparency" overall for Obamacare.

Accretive Health Breach: FTC Settlement

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  January 2, 2014

As a result of a settlement with the FTC tied to a 2011 health data breach, Accretive Health, a billing company, must take a series of security steps to better safeguard health information.

Rodriguez May Be Leaving OCR

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  January 2, 2014

Leon Rodriguez, director of the HHS Office for Civil Rights, could leave the HIPAA enforcement agency to become the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services if his presidential nomination is formalized and he wins Senate approval.

Far More Health Breach Victims in 2013

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  December 20, 2013

More than twice as many individuals have been affected by healthcare data breaches this year than in 2012. The main reason? A handful of mega-breaches. What's the outlook for 2014?

New Orleans Physician to Head ONC

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  December 19, 2013

Karen DeSalvo, M.D., health commissioner of New Orleans, will be the next national coordinator for health IT. What privacy and security issues will she face as leader of the office that crafts guidelines for the HITECH Act's EHR incentive program?

CMS to Appoint Chief Risk Officer

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  December 11, 2013

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is creating a new position of chief risk officer in a multi-faceted effort to analyze and address problems with the troubled HealthCare.gov rollout. What are the security implications?

How a Flaw in VA Software Was Found

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  December 11, 2013

Security analyst Doug Mackey says his discovery of a vulnerability in the Department of Veterans Affairs' VistA electronic health record system highlights the importance of software security testing.

OIG: OCR Needs to Improve Compliance

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  December 9, 2013

The HHS Office for Civil Rights, which enforces HIPAA, has some compliance issues of its own to address, according to a new inspector general report. But OCR officials say they've been addressing those matters.

HITECH Stage 2 Extension Planned

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  December 6, 2013

Federal regulators plan to give healthcare providers an extra year to comply with requirements, including enhanced privacy and security measures, for Stage 2 of the HITECH Act electronic health record incentive program.

HIPAA Disclosures Rule Revamp Endorsed

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  December 5, 2013

The Department of Health and Human Services should make several revisions in its plans for a revamp of the HIPAA accounting of disclosures rule and conduct pilot tests before implementing a final rule, an advisory panel recommends.

HealthCare.gov: How Secure Is It Now?

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  December 2, 2013

Obama administration officials say hundreds of technical issues have been ironed out of the federal HealthCare.gov site, but have all of the security concerns been adequately addressed and tested?

Authentication: Balancing Act for HIEs

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  November 27, 2013

Ensuring strong authentication of users while maintaining ease of use is a difficult challenge for health information exchanges nationwide, says David Whitlinger of New York's statewide HIE.

Privacy Breaches at Insurance Exchanges

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee  •  November 26, 2013

Three recent privacy incidents at health insurance exchanges, including one in Vermont, involved consumers getting the wrong person's data. Privacy experts offer insights on lessons learned.