Washington Debrief: What CIOs Need to Know About Proposed Rules to Stark, Anti-kickback Exceptions

•  $56.3 million in public health service evaluation funding;
•  $20.6 million in budget authority; and
•  $1 million in certified electronic health record technology fees to support program activities, such as maintenance of the Certified Health IT Products List.

Other queues gleaned from the budget include $1 million increase to the Office for Civil Rights to help fund seven new full-time employees.  OCR's privacy and security enforcement team received and resolved more than 9,500 complaints of HIPAA violations in FY 2012.  The unit will be ramping up its oversight and investigation activities following recent updates to HIPAA.  Additionally, funding for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) would increase to $434 million, a $29 million increase over AHRQ's budget for FY 2012.

Edited by Gabriel Perna