The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) are launching a health care advisory committee, giving surgery centers a new platform to showcase their strategic value. Moving forward, the committee will deliver recommendations directly to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz. Specifically, the committee will be tasked with advising on how care is financed and delivered across Medicare, … [Read more...]
Syracuse ASC Pays $250K Over Ransomware Breach, Enters HIPAA Settlement with HHS
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has reached a $250,000 settlement with Syracuse ASC LLC, doing business as Specialty Surgery Center of Central New York, over a ransomware breach that compromised the protected health information (PHI) of nearly 25,000 individuals. Announced July 23 by HHS’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), the settlement addresses potential violations of the HIPAA Security and Breach Notification Rules. It also includes a two-year corrective action plan … [Read more...]
What ASCs Should Know About Information Sharing
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a final rule on June 24 that established disincentives for health care providers who practice information blocking. That could include ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). Under the 21st Century Cures Act, the secretary of the HHS has exercised the department’s authority to establish "disincentives" for health care providers who knowingly engage in practices that unreasonably interfere with the access, exchange or use of … [Read more...]