U.S. Rep. Tom Petri is introducing federal legislation to fix a loophole that the IRS claims prevents it from informing people if the IRS detects that their Social Security Number has been fraudulently used… … One resident of Princeton, Wis., learned that he was a victim of the fraud as a result of a call…
Category: Federal
No more anonymous “private practice” on HHS breach list
HHS has now started revealing the names of the HIPAA-covered entities who had previously been listed only as “private practice” in their list of those having breaches affecting 500 or more individuals. PHIprivacy.net had been one of a number of entities that had complained about private practices being shielded, but OCR had interpreted the Privacy…
White House seeks comment on trusted ID plan
Grant Gross reports: The White House is seeking comment on a draft plan for establishing a trusted identity system online, with the goal of making Internet transactions more secure and convenient. Howard Schmidt, the White House cybersecurity coordinator and special assistant to President Barack Obama, released a draft version of the National Strategy for Trusted…
OCR drafts guidelines for security risk analysis
Mary Mosquera reports: The Health & Human Services Department published draft guidance to help healthcare providers and payers figure out what is expected of them in doing a risk analysis of their protected patient health information. The security rule of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires that providers, payment plans and their…
Court Delays Red Flags Rule for AICPA Members
A district court has granted a delay in the enforcement of the Federal Trade Commission’s Red Flags Rule governing identity theft prevention for members of the American Institute of CPAs in public practice. The Red Flags Rule is part of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, which Congress passed in 2003. The rule requires…
Accountants Want Out from New Identity Theft Rules, Just Like Lawyers
Jordan Weissmann writes: Fresh off the American Bar Association’s success fending off the application of new anti-identity theft regulations to lawyers, a trade group representing certified public accountants has filed its own lawsuit over the rules. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, represented by Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson partners Daniel Loeb and…