The HITECH Act authorizes a state attorney general to bring a civil action for an injunction or damages in situations where the attorney general “has reason to believe that an interest of one or more of the residents of that State has been or is threatened or adversely affected” by a HIPAA violation.  The HHS Office for Civil Rights has initiated a series of HIPAA enforcement training courses for state attorneys general.  The first was held in Dallas in April.  Sessions are planned for each of Atlanta and Washington, D.C., in May and for San Francisco in June.  More information about the sessions (which are open only to state attorneys general and their staffs) on the OCR website.  These sessions may serve as an impetus for state enforcement actions.  Hopefully, the sessions will also serve to provide some level of uniformity in interpretation of HIPAA obligations by state attorneys general. 

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Photo of Anna D. Kraus Anna D. Kraus

Anna Durand Kraus advises on issues relating to the complex array of laws governing the health care industry. Her background as Deputy General Counsel to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) gives her broad experience with, and valuable insight into…

Anna Durand Kraus advises on issues relating to the complex array of laws governing the health care industry. Her background as Deputy General Counsel to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) gives her broad experience with, and valuable insight into, the programs and issues within the purview of HHS, including Medicare, Medicaid, fraud and abuse, and HIPAA privacy and security. Anna is co-chair of the firm’s Health Care Industry practice group.

Anna regularly advises clients on Medicare reimbursement matters, particularly those arising under Part B and the Part D prescription drug benefit. She also has extensive experience with the Medicaid Drug Rebate program. She assists numerous pharmaceutical and device manufacturers, health care providers, pharmacy benefit managers, and other health care industry stakeholders to navigate the challenges and opportunities presented by the Affordable Care Act.

Anna is a trusted adviser on health information privacy, security and breach notification issues, including those arising under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (“HITECH”) Act. Her background in this area dates back to the issuance of the original HIPAA privacy regulations.

Anna’s clients depend on her to guide them through compliance with the Anti-Kickback statute, the Stark regulations, and other laws preventing fraud and abuse in the health care industry. Her deep knowledge of these laws has made her an important component of the firm’s representation of pharmaceutical companies and health care organizations under federal investigation or facing allegations under the False Claims Act. In addition, clients contemplating acquisitions in the health care sector rely on her to guide due diligence efforts.

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