HHS to solicit comments on methodology for victims of HIPAA violations to receive percentage of civil penalties or settlements

In May, the Department of Health and Human Services published its Spring 2015 regulatory agenda, which outlines its upcoming rulemaking initiatives.  The agenda describes a number of Office of Civil Rights (OCR) rulemakings that are forthcoming, including OCR’s plan to release an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking that would solicit public comments on establishing a methodology under which an individual who is harmed by a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) offense may receive a percentage of any Civil Money Penalty or monetary settlement collected by the government with respect to the offense.  This is a significant rulemaking, which was required under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) and is expected to be released in December 2015.  The full regulatory agenda may be accessed here: http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaMain.