Administrative Law Judge rules in favor of OCR enforcement, requiring Lincare, Inc. to pay $239,800
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), Carolyn Cozad Hughes, ruled that Lincare, Inc. (Lincare) violated the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule and granted summary judgment to the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) on all issues, requiring Lincare to pay $239,800 in civil money penalties (CMPs) imposed by OCR. This is the only the second time in its history that OCR has sought CMPs for HIPAA violations and each time the CMPs have been upheld upon judicial review.
