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HIPAAlert: NewsBrief -- February 28, 2001HHS Begins Accepting Comments on Privacy RuleToday, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) announced the public comment period on the HIPAA Privacy Rule is again open and will close at 5 PM on March 30th. Comments may be mailed, hand- delivered or submitted through the Administrative Simplification web site. E-mail and fax comments are not being accepted. In the notice published in the Federal Register, Secretary Thompson said, "The significance of the Privacy Rule for the health care industry and for society as a whole, and the substantial nature of some concerns that have been raised have led us to conclude that an additional comment period on the Privacy Rule is warranted." The notice also stated, "Based on telephone calls, e-mails, letters, and other contacts with HHS, we are aware that the Privacy Rule has been the subject of widespread debate in the health care industry and the public at large in the almost two months since its publication. Thus, we believe that many of the public's concerns about the Privacy Rule have already crystallized. We accordingly are of the view that 30 days should be sufficient for the public to state its views fully to HHS." As of Wednesday morning, the Administrative Simplification web site had not been updated to reflect this news, but is expected to shortly. |
