OCR Issues Proposed Rule to Modify HIPAA Privacy Rule to Include Explicit Protections for Reproductive Healthcare

On April 12, 2023, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking detailing its proposal to modify the HIPAA Privacy Rule (Proposed Rule). The Proposed Rule comes as a part of the Biden administration’s response to the US Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

The Proposed Rule would provide special protections for protected health information (PHI) related to reproductive healthcare. Following the Dobbs decision, many healthcare providers expressed concerns that PHI related to reproductive healthcare may be sought by state and local governments for use in criminal, civil or administrative investigations or proceedings. OCR noted that such compelled uses and disclosures of PHI could have a chilling effect on lawfully obtained healthcare and erode trust in confidential communications between a patient and provider. Additionally, providers could elect to leave out critical details from a patient’s medical record if they fear the information could later be used by a state or local government actor against the patient.

Stakeholders may submit comments on the proposed rule on or before June 16, 2023.

Read more here.

Stacey Callaghan
Stacey Callaghan counsels healthcare entities, healthcare technology companies, data companies, and private equity entities as they navigate transactional, regulatory, and compliance issues. She focuses on assisting clients on matters including data privacy and protection requirements under HIPAA and other privacy laws, data breach investigations and compliance, and data sharing, licensing, and de-identification arrangements. Stacey also assists clients in developing telemedicine strategies and documenting agreements given the evolving digital health regulatory landscape. Read Stacey L. Callaghan's full bio.


Jiayan Chen
Jiayan Chen is deeply experienced in the regulatory, transactional and strategic issues that arise when leveraging health information, biospecimens and technology to drive healthcare innovation and quality. She guides stakeholders on privacy compliance and research compliance and in the context of strategic initiatives and collaborations as they seek to harness the power of data, machine learning, DNA sequencing and technologies to develop and deploy new products and solutions and address challenges in healthcare delivery and payment. Read Jiayan Chen's full bio.


Caroline Reignley
Caroline Reignley provides valuable counsel on healthcare regulatory and reimbursement law to her clients, including for-profit and nonprofit hospitals, health systems and physician groups. She is particularly focused on advising clients on Medicare and Medicaid fee-for-service reimbursement, billing and coding, licensure, accreditation and healthcare compliance matters.Read Caroline Reignley's full bio.


Scott Weinstein
Scott A. Weinstein provides legal counsel on health care regulatory compliance, contracting and transactional due diligence, with a focus on health information privacy and security, Medicare and Medicaid's health information technology and quality reporting requirements, and clinical research regulations. Scott additionally provides legal counsel on federal and state privacy and data protection laws, with a focus on privacy audits and the development of internal and externally facing privacy policies for websites and mobile applications. Read Scott Weinstein's full bio.


Dexter Golinghorst
Dexter Golinghorst focuses his practice on health law matters, providing regulatory and operational advice to traditional healthcare providers, industry innovators and other healthcare and life sciences clients. Dexter also assists in transactional matters, performing due diligence, drafting and reviewing agreements and providing counsel on compliance matters for mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and other strategic transactions. Read Dexter Golinghorst's full bio.

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