Resource Library

Following the 2014 midterm elections, health care reform in the United States continues to evolve and unfold. This session will discuss the latest developments in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), including Medicaid, Medicare, health care exchanges (marketplaces) and accountable care organizations; and reveal what health care reform may bring in 2016.

This presenter discusses the latest developments in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) regarding marketplaces.

Papers, files, emails, texts. Healthcare companies are overflowing with records and data. This panel discussion will help you answer key questions for in-house healthcare lawyers. What competing data retention requirements do health care companies face? What is a record? How long must it be maintained? What are the pitfalls for dealing with vendors in healthcare? What does maintaining all these records cost? Get tips for reducing the cost and helping your business streamline its record retention processes.

Faced with new adopters of technology — or perhaps “never adopters”? Technology is rapidly evolving, and in the healthcare world, companies constantly encounter dilemmas when faced with the business need to implement new technologies in harmony with archaic legal standards. This session will address numerous technology issues, including those with medical devices, software as a device, mobile applications, risks, benefits, and the global element. Come learn the legal risks and benefits around emerging technology (such as mobile health) and how to best partner with your IT and business colleagues without betting the company.

In-house counsel can take advantage of delays in the effective date of several key Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirements to refine their health care strategies for 2014 and 2015. This program will focus on the ACA requirement that most employers provide all full-time employees (who average 30 or more hours per week) with health coverage that meets federal standards of affordability and minimum value. There is no “one-size-fits-all” compliance model for businesses. This presents both a compliance challenge and a strategic opportunity for in-house counsel. Our panelists will provide sophisticated information on how to take into account factors about your company — including its turnover rate, reliance on part-time employees, vulnerability to union organizing, use of staffing agencies, seasonal fluctuation and systems for tracking hours worked — in choosing a health plan design and coverage options. We will also cover how your company will deal with the new state-based insurance exchanges, as well as new rules on waiting periods and wellness programs. Panelists will answer specific questions on these new requirements and enforcement issues.

As a result of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH), many businesses which weren’t subject to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) are suddenly struggling to understand their requirements and responsibilities under HIPAA. For example, the session will cover requirements and responsibilities related to negotiating contracts, accepting liability, providing indemnity and complying with federal requirements. This session will also discuss Business Associate Agreements: who is subject, what a subject entity is required to do (and what they’re not required to do), and what that means for their business –– especially if the business isn’t actually in the healthcare field. This includes an understanding of what should and shouldn’t be in the agreement; what may seem to be boilerplate should be carefully examined. A basic understanding of HIPAA requirements will be helpful for this session.

2015 promises to be another banner year in healthcare for the Supremes. The Court is set to hear cases on tax-credit subsidies under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, breach of fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, and provider challenges to Medicaid rates, among others. A panel of in-house counsel and a current practitioner will summarize the Court’s holdings impacting the healthcare arena, including any concurring and/or dissenting opinions, and what impact the decisions may have on the in-house health lawyer, as well as looking forward to what is coming ahead for the Court.

Taking a cue from the popular TV show 24, the Health Law Committee plans to solve a US Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) breach in 90 minutes. In this interactive session, panelists will take on various roles, like CEO, CIO, security officer, privacy officer, compliance officer and general counsel, as they take the audience through simulated breach scenarios involving protected health information. Garner substantive information and practical tips for managing HIPAA incidents and data breaches as the speakers are challenged in real time to address the details provided by attendees.

This presenter speaks about Medicare updates to the Affordable Care Act (ACA)

One of the biggest challenges in managing privacy programs in North America is recognizing and reconciling the significant data implications between the United States and Canada that apply to otherwise similar products and services. Attendees will learn key differences, helpful similarities, and strategies for managing a comprehensive approach to privacy, including what to do with a cross-border data breach.