The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released proposed changes to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule that are intended to increase individuals' engagement in their care, remove barriers to coordinated care and reduce regulatory burdens on the health care industry.

The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), part of the overarching efforts by HHS to promote value-based health care, would modify individuals' rights to access their own health information, including electronic information; amend information sharing for care coordination and case management for individuals; facilitate greater family and caregiver involvement in the care of individuals experiencing emergencies or health crises; and propose additional flexibilities for disclosures in emergency or threatening circumstances, such as the opioid and COVID-19 public health emergencies. The rules seek to reduce administrative burdens on HIPAA-covered health care providers and health plans, while continuing to protect individuals' health information privacy interests.

"Our proposed changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rule will break down barriers that have stood in the way of commonsense care coordination and value-based arrangements for far too long," said HHS Secretary Alex Azar. "As part of our broader efforts to reform regulations that impede care coordination, these proposed reforms will reduce burdens on providers and empower patients and their families to secure better health."

Reducing administrative burden and ensuring patient access to care are important strategic priorities of ACC's Advocacy efforts. ACC Advocacy staff are currently reviewing the proposed changes and will provide more details in the coming weeks. The OCR is encouraging public comments over the next 60 days. View the full NPRM on the HHS website.

Keywords: ACC Advocacy, Privacy, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

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