Question 1

Notice of Privacy Practices

Accepted Answer

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE READ IT CAREFULLY.

The Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is a Federal program that requires that all medical records and other individually identifiable health information used or disclosed by us in any form, whether electronically, on paper, or orally are kept properly confidential. HIPAA gives you, the patient, the right to understand and control how your personal health information (PHI) is used. HIPAA provides penalties for covered entities that misuse personal health information.
As required by HIPAA, we prepared this explanation of how we are to maintain the privacy of your health information and how we may disclose your personal information.

We may use and disclose your medical records only for the following purposes: treatment, payment, and health care operation.

•Treatment means providing, coordinating, or managing healthcare and related services by one or more healthcare providers. An example of this is if you are referred to a primary care doctor or another specialist.
	•Payment means such activities as obtaining reimbursement for services, confirming coverage, billing or collections activities, and utilization review. An example of this would include sending your insurance company a bill for your visit.
	•Health Care Operations include the business aspects of running our practice, such as conducting quality assessments and improving activities, auditing functions, cost management analysis, and customer service. An example of this would be patient survey cards.
	•The practice may also be required or permitted to disclose your PHI for law enforcement or other legitimate reasons. In all situations, we shall do our best to assure its continued confidentiality to the extent possible.

We may also create and distribute de-identified health information by removing all references to individually identifiable information.
We may contact you, by phone or in writing, to provide appointment reminders or information about treatment alternatives or other health-related benefits and services, in addition to other fundraising communications, that may be of interest to you. You do have the right to "opt out" with respect to receiving fundraising communications from us.

The following use and disclosures of PHI will only be made pursuant to us receiving written authorization from you:

•Most uses and disclosure of psychotherapy notes (these are not part of your medical record under HIPAA);
	•Uses and disclosure of your PHI for marketing purposes, including subsidized treatment and health care operations;
	•Disclosures that constitute a sale of PHI under HIPAA; and
	•Other uses and disclosures not described in this notice.
You may revoke such authorization in writing and we are required to honor and abide by that written request, except to the extent that we have already taken actions relying on your prior authorization. You may have the following rights with respect to your PHI.
	•The right to request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of PHI, including those related to disclosures of family members, other relatives, close personal friends, or any other person identified by you. We are, however, not required to honor a request restriction except in limited circumstances which we shall explain if you ask. If we do agree to the restriction, we must abide by it unless you agree in writing to remove it.
	•The right to reasonable requests to receive confidential communications of Protected Health Information by alternative means or at alternative locations.
	•The right to inspect and copy your PHI.
	•The right to amend your PHI.
	•The right to receive an accounting of disclosures of your PHI.
	•The right to obtain a paper copy of this notice from us upon request.
	•The right to be advised if your unprotected PHI is intentionally or unintentionally disclosed.

If you have paid for services "out of pocket", in full and in advance, and you request that we not disclose PHI related solely to those services to a health plan, we will accommodate your request, except where we are required by law to make a disclosure.
We are required by law to maintain the privacy of your Protected Health Information and to provide you the notice of our legal duties and our privacy practice with respect to PHI.

This notice is effective as of September 1, 2017, and it is our intention to abide by the terms of the Notice of Privacy Practices and HIPAA Regulations currently in effect. We reserve the right to change the terms of our Notice of Privacy Practice and to make the new notice provision effective for all PHI that we maintain. We will post and you may request a written copy of the revised Notice of Privacy Practice from our office.

You have recourse if you feel that your protections have been violated by our office. You have the right to file a formal, written complaint with the office and with the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Civil Rights. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

Feel free to contact Practice Compliance Officer Judy Mendoza at (916) 747-2346 for more information, in person or in writing.

Question 2

No Suprises Act - "Good Faith Estimate"

Accepted Answer

Effective January 1, 2022, a ruling went into effect called the "No Surprises Act" which requires practitioners to provide a "Good Faith Estimate" about out-of-network care.

Under Section 2799B-6 of the Public Health Service Act (PHSA), health care providers and health care facilities are required to inform individuals who are not enrolled in an insurance plan or a Federal health care program, or not seeking to file a claim with their plan, that upon request they are entitled to receive (both orally and in writing) a "Good Faith Estimate" of expected charges. 
Note: The PHSA and GFE does not currently apply to clients who are using insurance benefits, including "out of network benefits'' (i.e., submitting superbills to insurance for reimbursement). However, we are furnishing this information to all clients so that you may understand your estimated charges in the event that your health insurance expires, or you choose to become a cash pay client. These charges would also apply if you received services after the expiration of your health insurance plan and did not give us prior notification of the expiration.

Good Faith Estimate Disclaimer

This Good Faith Estimate shows the costs of items and services that are reasonably expected for your health care needs for an item or service. The estimate is based on information known at the time the estimate was created.
The Good Faith Estimate does not include any unknown or unexpected costs that may arise during treatment. You could be charged more if complications or special circumstances occur. If this happens, federal law allows you to dispute (appeal) the bill. If you are billed for more than this Good Faith Estimate, you have the right to dispute the bill. You may contact the health care provider or facility listed to let them know the billed charges are higher than the Good Faith Estimate. You can ask them to update the bill to match the Good Faith Estimate, ask to negotiate the bill, or ask if there is financial assistance available. 
You may also start a dispute resolution process with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). If you choose to use the dispute resolution process, you must start the dispute process within 120 calendar days (about 4 months) of the date on the original bill. There is a $25 fee to use the dispute process. If the agency reviewing your dispute agrees with you, you will have to pay the price on this Good Faith Estimate. If the agency disagrees with you and agrees with the health care provider or facility, you will have to pay the higher amount. To learn more and get a form to start the process, go to www.cms.gov/nosurprises or call 1-800-985-3059.

Make sure to save a copy or picture of your Good Faith Estimate. For questions or more information about your rights to a Good Faith Estimate, visit www.cms.gov/nosurprises or call 1-800-985-3059.

Question 3

CA Medical Board: New Law Requires Notice to Patients About Open Payments Database

Accepted Answer

The Open Payments database is a federal tool used to search payments made by drug and device companies to physicians and teaching hospitals. It can be found at https://openpaymentsdata.cms.gov.

For informational purposes only, a link to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Open Payments web page is provided here. The federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act requires that detailed information about payment and other payments of value worth over ten dollars ($10) from manufacturers of drugs, medical devices, and biologics to physicians and teaching hospitals be made available to the public.

Government Notices

Notice of Privacy Practices

No Suprises Act - "Good Faith Estimate"

CA Medical Board: New Law Requires Notice to Patients About Open Payments Database