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Tuesday, February 17, President Obama signed the Economic Stimulus Package into law. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Public Law 111-5) includes several provisions of particular interest to ambulance service providers. First, the package establishes privacy protections for electronic health information and applies the privacy protections under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to business associates of covered entities. Second, it provides assistance to health care providers including ambulance service providers to invest in health information technology. Third, it extends COBRA benefits for employees who are involuntarily terminated. Fourth, the new law includes several tax relief measures for businesses. This special edition of the AAA E-Update provides information on these four key issues for ambulance service providers.
1. Changes to HIPAA
- Advisory on Changes to HIPAA by Brian Werfel
2. Funding under Health Information Technology Grants
- Stimulus Package Analysis by Patton Boggs, Health IT (Page 88)
3. Extension of COBRA Benefits
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Fact Sheet: COBRA Premium Reduction
4. Tax Relief Measures for Businesses
- Memo on Business-Related Tax Provisions from Patton Boggs
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