On October 23, 2019, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights (“HHS”) announced a $2,154,000 civil money penalty for numerous violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Security and Breach Notification Rules between 2013 and 2016.

According to HHS, Jackson Health System (“JHS”) is a

The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, on remand from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, has again decided that the previously agreed termination date of the access provisions contained in the UPMC/Highmark Consent Decrees, i.e. June 30, 2019, is not a term subject to the modification provisions of those Consent Decrees, and is definite.  The adjudication of the Commonwealth

The Patient Test Result Information Act was effective December 23, 2018.

The Act requires entities performing diagnostic imaging services, defined to include any medical imaging test intended to diagnose the presence or absence of a disease, to provide notice of the results to patients.  The operative language states:

“When, in the judgment of the entity

Although there have been a number of issues raised by the Pennsylvania Attorney General in the UPMC/Highmark situation, including UPMC’s status as a charitable institution, the primary issue in the Attorney General’s lawsuit was a request to extend the June 30, 2019 termination date for the UPMC-Highmark Consent Decrees. The Commonwealth Court declined to extend

Below is a summary of UPMC-Highmark dispute as of March 4, 2019. This information is limited to litigation proceedings with no discussion about prior contracts or negotiations.

  1. March 2011 – UPMC announces it will not renew UPMC-Highmark contract due to expire December 31, 2012.
  2. May 1, 2012 – Parties enter into mediated agreement which states