Boldly announced as something that they've done, HIPAA's enforcement against CVS Caremark is a great example of wasting our Federal Dollars. After three years of Federal investigation and prosecution that has cost taxpayers in civilian governmental employee salaries...the verdict is in...CVS Caremark will pay the HHS (Health and Human Services) Two and a quarter million dollars for violations of HIPAA stemming from disposal of patient information.
The first thing to note is the money involved: $2.25 million, ordered in February to be paid to HHS. This amount will not cover the expenses of the "investigation and prosecution" nor will it change the fact that CVS has been carrying on business as usual for the three years of "investigation."
The second thing is that CVS's ongoing liability is limited to having to appoint compliance officers who report to HHS.
The third noteworthy component of this slap on the wrist is that compliance with Federal law was assumed until the FTC responded to complaints.
This lack of oversight of CVS procedures is the most predicting factor of this "settlement" for the consumers who are promised the same by President Obama.
President Obama, time to organize your checklist of "campaign promises I addressed" and put them in some order of priority. HIPAA has been in effect since 1996. CVS has been using its same procedures for at least as many years. There is no mention that companies like CVS were obliged to show that they were following the law, that the law was being enforced through oversight, nor that the government responded to the first complaint, the first ten complaints nor the first thousand complaints. This ridiculous governmental "honor" system of compliance has been worsened through the lack of real penalty imposed on the lawbreaking company...a minor fine and after the fact paperwork filings required. So can you learn anything from this Mr. President or is this too "looking backwards," and therefore something that you are adverse to?
Spending money you don't have: Without apology or even the smallest attempt to curb government spending on failed programs like HIPAA, you've forged away with billions of dollars in handouts to businesses and specifically health services providers for increased use of technology without companion means and consequences for failure to comply. This promises more of the same...slaps on the wrist, corrective actions that fail to penalize companies or their officers in any meaningful way for violations and the complete absence of criminal penalties for conduct that thumbs its nose at governmental rules.
Governmental civilian employee responsibility and firing: Using the overpopulated world of civil service and the I didn't know what the other guy was doing mentality, we have governmental workers in every department duplicating work, verifying one another's work and in the end accomplishing little...this complaint ended up being initiated by the FTC, not HHS nor the OCR, the places consumers are told to file their complaints about HIPAA. One can assume that complaint after complaint was ignored, filed or rerouted during years of CVS profit-making during its non-compliance. All the tough talk about corporate executives and every civil servant is protected with plans to expand their base...in your own words Mr. President, this is shameful.
It is your face that ultimately will be on these failed plans in spite of your efforts to blame your predecessor and categorize the problem as soooo big: Who knows how many people were involved in the Madoff affair? Wherever your opinion falls, and mine falls on the fact that there were others among the SEC executives, money men at every level who conspired with Madoff to execute this debacle and ignored reality, the bottom line is that Madoff is the villain. His problem is that thousands of people were involved...not millions, so that there are no convenient ways to plaster up a sheet of criminals. Mr. Madoff is the villain. And you Mr. President, as head of a government that you allow to swell and spend while its individual employees fail at their jobs, you too will be the face of failure. Refusal to CUT jobs of individuals, departments and programs that are basically consumer handouts will leave you in the forefront of villains.
Doing something is sometimes worse than doing nothing because as in the case of the $2.25 million that the HHS department will receive from CVS, it's laughable, it shows how little authority, power and meaning HIPAA has. Consumers have had their rights violated, time and time again, continuing through CVS's three year long investigation, salaries paid to individuals jumbling through paperwork have far exceeded that amount over the three years, and if there's anything that shows the uselessness of HIPAA, it is this case: Millions of people affected by a CORPORATE process that NEVER complied with the law, that has now resulted in a minor fine to be paid to the government. President Obama, tough talk with wishy washy action is the blend of a bag of hot air, not a leader.
So while many are attracted to the "face of Madoff," Mr. President, those of us who voted for you urge you to pay attention to CVS Caremark and the faux enforcement of HIPAA.
