 Your new post is loading...
Committee Leaders Concerned with Reports of IRS’ Handling of Sensitive Information, Especially as Agency Gears Up to Implement Obamacare
WASHINGTON, DC – Energy and Commerce Committee leaders today sent a letter to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Acting Administrator Daniel Werfel requesting information about a March 2011 IRS search and seizure of as many as 60 million medical records from a California health care provider. The letter comes on the heels of a recent lawsuit that was filed regarding the legality of the seizure of over 10 million American patients’ medical information in the course of executing a warrant related to a former employee’s financial records. As the IRS is tasked with implementing much of the president’s health care law, committee leaders are concerned about what restrictions and safeguards are in place to ensure that Americans’ medical information remains protected. In the letter to the Acting IRS Administrator, Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Tim Murphy (R-PA), Vice Chairman of the Oversight and Investigations and Health Subcommittees Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), full committee Chairman Emeritus Joe Barton (R-TX), and full committee Vice Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) wrote, “(T)he Committee on Energy and Commerce is investigating allegations that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), in the course of executing a search warrant at a California health care provider’s corporate headquarters in March 2011, improperly seized the personal medical records of millions of American citizens in possible violation of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution.” The leaders continued, “According to a March 14, 2013, report by courthousenews.com, the unnamed health care provider is now suing the IRS and 15 unnamed agents in California Superior Court alleging that the agents stole more than 60 million medical records from more than 10 million American patients during a search conducted March 11, 2011. The warrant authorizing that search was apparently limited to the financial records of a former employee of the company and in no way authorized the sweeping confiscation of the personal medical records of millions of Americans who had no connection to the initial IRS investigation. … In light of these allegations and in anticipation of the IRS’s increased role in implementing health care under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, we are writing to request information regarding your agency’s ability to both protect the confidential medical information of millions of Americans and respect the safeguards imposed by HIPAA [Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act].” According to news reports, the lawsuit alleges that the medical records included “information on psychological counseling, gynecological counseling, sexual and drug treatment, and other sensitive medical treatment data.” Committee leaders requested that Werfel respond by Tuesday, June 25. Read the entire letter here. ###
Denise Scott shouts angrily over the way America has forgotten her."We don't need no more illegals comin' over here!
After two years of rallies, fades and recoveries, the results are in and the winner is LinkedIn Corp. The loser is Apple Inc., writes John Shinal.
Despite the equity markets near record highs and other positive economic news, retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s results and forecast on Thursday suggest there remain plenty of pressures facing global consumers.
When great minds get together, their ideas are contagious. Just ask the nearly 400 people who attended the first TEDxDelray Beach event Friday at the Crest Theater, where more than two dozen speakers took the stage to inspire with their ideas and innovations.
The federal Drug Enforcement Administration sent cease-and-desist letters to 11 medical-marijuana dispensaries but maintains that the crackdown does not signal a federal war on Washington state’s new legal-pot law.
Daniel Cane is president and CEO of Modernizing Medicine Inc., based in Boca Raton.
A trend that started in 2012 has become an annual tradition at the NFL draft as NFL Network and ESPN agree not to "tip" draft selections via Twitter before they are announced on television.
Universal Analytics is the next iteration of Google Analytics, and last month it launched into public beta. Universal Analytics is a completely new version of the Analytics tracking code, and it’s also a completely new way of looking at how we track and analyse our users. In short, it’s going to change everything. The main difference with Universal Analytics is that it tracks much, much more than just visits to a website. The Google Analytics that we all know and love is based on an older analytics product called Urchin, which Google bought in 2005 and was initially created in 1998. It’s come a long way since then, and we’ve been able to do some sophisticated stuff with it, but it’s only designed to track visits to a website.
Wednesday, April 24, 2013 - 10:00am Oversight and Investigations 2123 Rayburn Background Documents and Information: Hearing Notice Background Memo Witnesses: Mr. Gary Cohen Director Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight Witness Testimony (Truth in Testimony and CV) Congress: 113th
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged within minutes early this afternoon, after somebody hacked an AP Twitter account and posted a bogus tweet saying the White House had been attacked.
Bitcoin Magazine is pleased to add Miss Elizabeth Ploshay to our team as Manager of Communications. Elizabeth has worked on Capitol Hill in Washington as a Legislative Correspondent and Scheduler, and she is excited to do more work involving Bitcoin. She will take over the responsibility of handling Customer Support and Advertising. We hope to expand her role in the near future to have her contribute more to the magazine and our content! Here is a brief introduction by Elizabeth:
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Google Inc. will pay $1 for a municipal fiber-optic system that cost $39 million to build, according to terms of the Internet company's agreement with Provo. The deal is widely expected to be approved Tuesday by the City Council, making Provo the third city selected by Google for high-speed Internet and television service. Google is already operating a fiber-optic system in Kansas City, Mo., and earlier this month it selected Austin, Texas, as a second candidate. In Provo, a city of 115,000 about 45 miles south of Salt Lake City, Google is making its first plans to take over an existing fiber system and will start operating it long before it can build the service for Austin. Even as Google takes ownership of the municipal network, Provo will have to pay off loans for its construction for another dozen years, according to agreements released Thursday by city officials. For nearly as many years, households have been paying $5.35 a month on their utility bills for a system that provides Internet, television and phone service - whether they use it or not. But Provo officials say Google's deal is a good one for the city and its residents because the system hasn't been able to support itself. Google Fiber will offer residents something in return for the utility fee - basic Internet service at no charge if they pay a $30 hookup fee. That's far less than the current $700 activation fee.
|
IR-2013-57, May 30, 2013 The Internal Revenue Service today announced the opening of the 2014 Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) grant application process. The LITC grant program is a federal program administered by the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate at the IRS, led by National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson. The LITC program awards matching grants of up to $100,000 per year to qualifying organizations to develop, expand, or maintain a low income taxpayer clinic. The LITC program funds organizations that serve low income individuals who have a tax dispute with the IRS (i.e., a “controversy clinic”) and organizations that provide education and outreach to taxpayers who speak English as a second language (an “ESL clinic”). Applicants may apply as either type of organization, or both. Although LITCs receive partial funding from the IRS, LITCs, their employees, and their volunteers operate independently from the IRS. Examples of qualifying organizations include: Clinical programs at accredited law, business or accounting schools whose students represent low income taxpayers in tax disputes with the IRS; and Organizations exempt from tax under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(a) that represent low income taxpayers in tax disputes with the IRS or refer those taxpayers to qualified representatives, or that provide outreach and education for ESL taxpayers. The IRS welcomes all applications and will ensure that each application receives full consideration. The IRS is particularly interested in receiving applications from organizations that will operate in areas that are currently underserved. Currently underserved areas are as follows: Identified States for New or Existing Clinics CONTROVERSY ESL Alaska, Alabama, Kansas, North Dakota, South Dakota Alabama, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Louisiana, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota Identified Metropolitan Areas for New Clinic Applications Los Angeles, California, including the following counties: Los Angeles, Kern, Riverside, Ventura Sacramento, California, including the following counties: El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Stanislaus Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, including the following counties: Berks, Delaware, Philadelphia St. Louis, Missouri, including the following counties: Cape Girardeau, Jefferson, St. Francois, St. Louis Copies of the 2014 Grant Application Package and Guidelines, IRS Publication 3319, can be downloaded from IRS.gov or ordered by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).
Last week, the state of California claimed that its version of Obamacare’s health insurance exchange would actually reduce premiums. “These rates are way below the worst-case gloom-and-doom scenarios we have heard,” boasted Peter Lee, executive director of the California exchange. But the data that Lee released tells a different story: Obamacare, in fact, will increase individual-market premiums in California by as much as 146 percent.
A federal grand jury in Georgia has handed down 6 indictments to 12 defendants charged with filing fraudulent tax returns with PHI from stolen medical records.
Virtual currency Bitcoin is gaining acceptance at a growing number of retailers nationwide, but are consumers actually paying with it?
A luxury condo in the Trump SoHo Hotel is being sold by an anonymous owner for around 24,700 Bitcoins, or $1.9 million. That’s by far the biggest-ticket item ever offered for sale in the virtual currency.
On April 30, 1975, the Vietnam War officially ended with the fall of Saigon to Communist forces.
Matt Diamond, CEO of Alloy Digital. Alloy Digital’s recent acquisition of Digital Broadcasting Group brings the two online media companies up to around 80 million unique viewers per month.
When the words “explosions” and “White House” popped up Tuesday on a verified Associated Press Twitter account, computers in the bare-bones offices of a New York City startup sprang into action. The computers, housed in the Madison Avenue headquarters of a company called Dataminr, sent alerts to clients like hedge funds and government agencies about the apparent news. Shortly thereafter, the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA +0.58% tumbled 145 points in seconds. But the machines weren’t fooled: Before the AP announced that the tweet was a hoax—its account had been hacked—Dataminr’s computers generated a fresh alert saying the news may not be legitimate. Moments later, shares rebounded across the board, and the blue-chip index ended the day with gains greater than before the incident.
Thursday, April 25, 2013 - 10:00amHealth2322 RayburnBackground Documents and Information: Hearing Notice Discussion Draft Background Memo Witnesses: Panel I Janet Woodcock, M.D. DirectorCenter for Drug Evaluation and ResearchFood and Drug Administration (FDA) Panel II Elizabeth A. Gallenagh, J.D. Vice President, Government Affairs and General CounselHealthcare Distribution Management Association Christine M. Simmon Senior Vice President, Policy & Strategic AlliancesGeneric Pharmaceutical Association Michael Rose Vice PresidentSupply Chain VisibilityJohnson and Johnson Health Care Systems, Inc. Tim Davis, PharmD. Owner, Beaver Health Mart PharmacyOn behalf of:National Community Pharmacists Association Allan Coukell DirectorMedical ProgramsPew Health Group, The Pew Charitable Trusts Carmen A. Catizone, MS, RPh, DPh, Executive Director and SecretaryNational Association of Boards of PharmacyCongress: 113th
Another sign of the culture’s rapidly changing views on the issue of same-sex marriage came Tuesday with a push for gay marriage in Florida – from Brendon Ayanbadejo , who was a linebacker for the Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens .
GoPro's Nick Woodman lived to surf and take photos doing it. It's a reminder of the most powerful model in business: do what you love.
The Pentagon has for the first time detailed $30 million in spending on Air Force cyberattack operations and significant new Army funding and staff needs for exploiting opponent...
|
