College bound or enrolled students with disabilities and their families should get moving to become familiar with, request and arrange for any needed accommodations at their planned university, college or other post secondary education program.
Students with disabilities continue to enjoy many protections against discrimination and rights to accommodation when applying for admission and pursuing education or training in college or other post secondary education settings. However disabled students and their families generally should expect to need to learn about some differences in the federal rules as well as be prepared to deal with different procedures their post secondary educational institutions use to comply with these requirements in order to understand and utilize these rights effectively.
While completing their primary and secondary school education, many disabled students and their families probably relied heavily upon rules established and enforced by the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), the Department of Education also administers the under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which provides funds to states to assist in making a free appropriate public education (FAPE) available to eligible children with disabilities. IDEA requirements apply to state education agencies, school districts and other public agencies that serve IDEA-eligible children. Institutions of postsecondary education have no legal obligations under IDEA.
While the IDEA no longer applies, qualifying disabled students attending colleges or other post secondary education continue to enjoy valuable rights and protections under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Title II) interpreted and enforced by the Department of Education. Section 504 and Title II both generally prohibit disability discrimination by any colleges, universities and other postsecondary education institutions receiving federal funds in the United States. While these rules generally reach most institutions, private institutions of postsecondary education that do not receive federal financial assistance are not subject to Section 504 or Title II, these nonfederally funded private educational institutions are subject to the prohibitions of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act against discrimination on the basis of disability by private entities that are not private clubs or religious entities. Thus, these private, nonfederally funded entities covered by these civil rights laws also have an obligation to comply with legal requirements and to carry out their programs and activities in a manner that does not discriminate on the basis of disability, but the Department of Justice, rather than the Department of Education interprets and enforces those rules.
Section 504 and Title II may provide qualifying students with disabilities attending federally funded colleges, universities and other post secondary education institutions a wide range of disability discrimination protections and other rights.
For example, prior to admission:
- Institutions of post secondary education may not make inquiries about prospective students’ disabilities prior to admitting them. Prospective students may choose to provide an institution with information about disabilities, but any disclosure of disability is voluntary.
- Institutions of post secondary education may inquire about whether prospective students can meet the academic and technical standards that are required for admission, provided that such inquiries are not designed to reveal the existence of disabilities.
- Prospective post secondary students may obtain changes in standardized testing conditions in the administration of entrance examinations if they can provide documentation from a qualified professional that supports the existence of a disability and the need for the specific change.
Following Admission:
- Institutions of post secondary education do not have a legal duty to identify students with disabilities. These institutions’ obligations are different from those of school districts, which must identify elementary and secondary school students with disabilities. As a result, students generally will need to be prepared to demonstrate their disability and request accommodations.
- After admission, institutions of postsecondary education may make confidential inquiries of students about disabilities that may require accommodation. A post secondary student does not have to disclose that he or she has a disability. To obtain academic adjustments, however, students must identify themselves to institutions of post secondary education as having disabilities and must make a request for an academic adjustment. A student may request an academic adjustment at any time, but advising the institution as soon as possible of the need for an academic adjustment can help to ensure that the institution has adequate time to review the request and provide an appropriate academic adjustment.
- Section 504 and IDEA require school districts to conduct an evaluation of a student suspected of having a disability at no cost to the student or his or her parents to determine whether the student has a disability and, because of that disability, needs special education and-or related services. Institutions of postsecondary education, however, are not required to pay for such evaluations. Therefore, if funding from other sources, such as the state vocational rehabilitation (VR) agency, is not available to a post secondary student, the student may have to pay for the evaluation.
- To comply with the requirements of IDEA, a school district or other public agency must have in effect an individualized education program (IEP) for children with disabilities. School districts may also create a plan or other document describing the evaluation and placement decisions they make for elementary and secondary school students pursuant to Section 504. Institutions of postsecondary education have no obligation to create these documents.
- Institutions of post secondary education must provide appropriate academic adjustments based on students’ disabilities and individual needs when necessary to avoid discrimination. In providing an academic adjustment, a post secondary institution does not have to eliminate or lower essential requirements, or make modifications that would result in a fundamental alteration of the programs or activities being offered or impose an undue burden on the institution.
- Institutions of postsecondary education may establish reasonable procedures for requesting academic adjustments, and students are responsible for knowing these procedures and following them. Postsecondary institutions may require students who request academic adjustments to provide documentation of their current disabilities and the need for academic adjustments. The institutions must inform students of the documentation they require. Elementary and secondary school IEPs generally will not be sufficient documentation, due to the different contexts and requirements of postsecondary education. However, existing assessment reports and a summary of the student’s academic achievement provided in compliance with IDEA may meet some documentation requirements.
- Institutions of post secondary education may not require students with disabilities to pay part or all of the costs of academic adjustments. Post secondary institutions may not condition their provision of academic adjustments on the availability of funds, refuse to spend more than a certain amount to provide academic adjustments, or refuse to provide academic adjustments because they believe other providers of such services exist.
These are just a few examples of the changes students with disabilities may encounter as they make the transition from high school to post secondary education.
To start getting a better understanding of the rules applicable when a disabled student attends a federally funded college, university or other post secondary educational institution, students and their families should consider reading the he explanations of the legal requirements of Section 504 and Title II in the post secondary education context Students with Disabilities Preparing for Postsecondary Education: Know Your Rights and Responsibilities and a guide entitled Transition of Students with Disabilities to Postsecondary Education: A Guide for High School Educators.
Students and their families also are likely to benefit from reviewing the following questions and answers provided by the Department of Education to assist students with disabilities and their families and educational institutions to understand the disabled student’s rights while attending postsecondary institutions.
As a student with a disability leaving high school and entering postsecondary education, will I see differences in my rights and how they are addressed?
Yes. Section 504 and Title II protect elementary, secondary, and postsecondary students from discrimination. Nevertheless, several of the requirements that apply through high school are different from the requirements that apply beyond high school. For instance, Section 504 requires a school district to provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to each child with a disability in the district’s jurisdiction. Whatever the disability, a school district must identify an individual’s educational needs and provide any regular or special education and related aids and services necessary to meet those needs as well as it is meeting the needs of students without disabilities.
Unlike your high school, however, your postsecondary school is not required to provide FAPE. Rather, your postsecondary school is required to provide appropriate academic adjustments as necessary to ensure that it does not discriminate on the basis of disability. In addition, if your postsecondary school provides housing to nondisabled students, it must provide comparable, convenient, and accessible housing to students with disabilities at the same cost.
Other important differences that you need to know, even before you arrive at your postsecondary school, are addressed in the remaining questions.
May a postsecondary school deny my admission because I have a disability?
No. If you meet the essential requirements for admission, a postsecondary school may not deny your admission simply because you have a disability.
Do I have to inform a postsecondary school that I have a disability?
No. But if you want the school to provide an academic adjustment, you must identify yourself as having a disability. Likewise, you should let the school know about your disability if you want to ensure that you are assigned to accessible facilities. In any event, your disclosure of a disability is always voluntary.
What academic adjustments must a postsecondary school provide?
The appropriate academic adjustment must be determined based on your disability and individual needs. Academic adjustments may include auxiliary aids and services, as well as modifications to academic requirements as necessary to ensure equal educational opportunity. Examples of adjustments are: arranging for priority registration; reducing a course load; substituting one course for another; providing note takers, recording devices, sign language interpreters, extended time for testing, and, if telephones are provided in dorm rooms, a TTY in your dorm room; and equipping school computers with screen-reading, voice recognition, or other adaptive software or hardware.
In providing an academic adjustment, your postsecondary school is not required to lower or substantially modify essential requirements. For example, although your school may be required to provide extended testing time, it is not required to change the substantive content of the test. In addition, your postsecondary school does not have to make adjustments that would fundamentally alter the nature of a service, program, or activity, or that would result in an undue financial or administrative burden. Finally, your postsecondary school does not have to provide personal attendants, individually prescribed devices, readers for personal use or study, or other devices or services of a personal nature, such as tutoring and typing.
If I want an academic adjustment, what must I do?
You must inform the school that you have a disability and need an academic adjustment. Unlike your school district, your postsecondary school is not required to identify you as having a disability or to assess your needs.
Your postsecondary school may require you to follow reasonable procedures to request an academic adjustment. You are responsible for knowing and following those procedures. In their publications providing general information, postsecondary schools usually include information on the procedures and contacts for requesting an academic adjustment. Such publications include recruitment materials, catalogs, and student handbooks, and are often available on school websites. Many schools also have staff whose purpose is to assist students with disabilities. If you are unable to locate the procedures, ask a school official, such as an admissions officer or counselor.
When should I request an academic adjustment?
Although you may request an academic adjustment from your postsecondary school at any time, you should request it as early as possible. Some academic adjustments may take more time to provide than others. You should follow your school’s procedures to ensure that the school has enough time to review your request and provide an appropriate academic adjustment.
Do I have to prove that I have a disability to obtain an academic adjustment?
Generally, yes. Your school will probably require you to provide documentation showing that you have a current disability and need an academic adjustment.
What documentation should I provide?
Schools may set reasonable standards for documentation. Some schools require more documentation than others. They may require you to provide documentation prepared by an appropriate professional, such as a medical doctor, psychologist, or other qualified diagnostician. The required documentation may include one or more of the following: a diagnosis of your current disability, as well as supporting information, such as the date of the diagnosis, how that diagnosis was reached, and the credentials of the diagnosing professional; information on how your disability affects a major life activity; and information on how the disability affects your academic performance. The documentation should provide enough information for you and your school to decide what is an appropriate academic adjustment.
An individualized education program (IEP) or Section 504 plan, if you have one, may help identify services that have been effective for you. This is generally not sufficient documentation, however, because of the differences between postsecondary education and high school education. What you need to meet the new demands of postsecondary education may be different from what worked for you in high school. Also, in some cases, the nature of a disability may change.
If the documentation that you have does not meet the postsecondary school’s requirements, a school official should tell you in a timely manner what additional documentation you need to provide. You may need a new evaluation in order to provide the required documentation.
Who has to pay for a new evaluation?
Neither your high school nor your postsecondary school is required to conduct or pay for a new evaluation to document your disability and need for an academic adjustment. You may, therefore, have to pay or find funding to pay an appropriate professional for an evaluation. If you are eligible for services through your state vocational rehabilitation agency, you may qualify for an evaluation at no cost to you. You may locate your state vocational rehabilitation agency at http://rsa.ed.gov by clicking on “Info about RSA,” then “People and Offices,” and then “State Agencies/ Contacts.”
Once the school has received the necessary documentation from me, what should I expect?
To determine an appropriate academic adjustment, the school will review your request in light of the essential requirements for the relevant program. It is important to remember that the school is not required to lower or waive essential requirements. If you have requested a specific academic adjustment, the school may offer that academic adjustment, or it may offer an effective alternative. The school may also conduct its own evaluation of your disability and needs at its own expense.
You should expect your school to work with you in an interactive process to identify an appropriate academic adjustment. Unlike the experience you may have had in high school, however, do not expect your postsecondary school to invite your parents to participate in the process or to develop an IEP for you.
What if the academic adjustment we identified is not working?
Let the school know as soon as you become aware that the results are not what you expected. It may be too late to correct the problem if you wait until the course or activity is completed. You and your school should work together to resolve the problem.
May a postsecondary school charge me for providing an academic adjustment?
No. Nor may it charge students with disabilities more for participating in its programs or activities than it charges students who do not have disabilities.
What can I do if I believe the school is discriminating against me?
Practically every postsecondary school must have a person—frequently called the Section 504 Coordinator, ADA Coordinator, or Disability Services Coordinator—who coordinates the school’s compliance with Section 504,Title II, or both laws. You may contact that person for information about how to address your concerns.
The school must also have grievance procedures. These procedures are not the same as the due process procedures with which you may be familiar from high school. But the postsecondary school’s grievance procedures must include steps to ensure that you may raise your concerns fully and fairly, and must provide for the prompt and equitable resolution of complaints.
School publications, such as student handbooks and catalogs, usually describe the steps that you must take to start the grievance process. Often, schools have both formal and informal processes. If you decide to use a grievance process, you should be prepared to present all the reasons that support your request.
If at student is dissatisfied with the outcome of the school’s grievance procedures or wish to pursue an alternative to using those procedures, the student may file a complaint against the school with OCR or in a court following the OCR complaint process explained in the brochure How to File a Discrimination Complaint with the Office for Civil Rights.
In addition to understanding their rights, including differences in the rules from those that applied before college, college students with disabilities and their families need to anticipate that the student will need to learn to negotiate new rules and procedures that work differently from what their experience was in primary or secondary school. Beyond the actual differences in the procedures, students generally can expect much more diversity in the procedures, as post secondary institutions tend to delegate significant authority and responsibility for design, implementation and application of these requirements to schools, departments and even individual professors. Students also should be prepared to take on much greater responsibility for advocating for his or her own rights and needs. For these reasons, most students and their families will want to start learning and pursuing the process early and well in advance of commencement of their initial semester of attendance as well as be proactive to communicate with instructional staff and others throughout the process leading up to and attending these institutions.
About The Author
Recognized by LexisNexis® Martindale-Hubbell® as a “AV-Preeminent” (Top 1%/ the highest) and “Top Rated Lawyer,” with special recognition as “LEGAL LEADER™ Texas Top Rated Lawyer” in Health Care Law and Labor and Employment Law; as among the “Best Lawyers In Dallas” for her work in the fields of “Health Care,” “Labor & Employment,” “Tax: Erisa & Employee Benefits” and “Business and Commercial Law” by D Magazine, the author of this update is widely known for her 29 plus years’ of work in health care, health benefit, health policy and regulatory affairs and other health industry concerns as a practicing attorney and management consultant, thought leader, author, public policy advocate and lecturer.
Throughout her adult life and nearly 30-year legal career, Ms. Stamer’s legal, management and governmental affairs work has focused on helping health industry, health benefit and other organizations and their management use the law, performance and risk management tools and process to manage people, performance, quality, compliance, operations and risk. Highly valued for her rare ability to find pragmatic client-centric solutions by combining her detailed legal and operational knowledge and experience with her talent for creative problem-solving, Ms. Stamer supports these organizations and their leaders on both a real-time, “on demand” basis as well as outsourced operations or special counsel on an interim, special project, or ongoing basis with strategic planning and product and services development and innovation; workforce and operations management, crisis preparedness and response as well as to prevent, stabilize and cleanup legal and operational crises large and small that arise in the course of operations. Her experience encompasses helping health industry clients manage workforce, medical staff, vendors and suppliers, medical billing, reimbursement, claims and other provider-payer relations, business partners, and their recruitment, performance, discipline, compliance, safety, compensation, benefits, and training ;board, medical staff and other governance; compliance and internal controls; strategic planning, process and quality improvement; change management; assess, deter, investigate and address staffing, quality, compliance and other performance; meaningful use, EMR, HIPAA and other data security and breach and other health IT and data; crisis preparedness and response; internal, government and third-party reporting, audits, investigations and enforcement; government affairs and public policy; and other compliance and risk management, government and regulatory affairs and operations concerns.
The American Bar Association (ABA) International Section Life Sciences Committee Vice Chair, a Scribe for the ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits (JCEB) Annual OCR Agency Meeting, former Vice President of the North Texas Health Care Compliance Professionals Association, past Chair of the ABA Health Law Section Managed Care & Insurance Section, past ABA JCEB Council Representative, past Board President of Richardson Development Center (now Warren Center) for Children Early Childhood Intervention Agency, past North Texas United Way Long Range Planning Committee Member, and past Board Member and Compliance Chair of the National Kidney Foundation of North Texas, Ms. Stamer has worked closely with a diverse range of physicians, hospitals and healthcare systems, DME, Pharma, clinics, health care providers, managed care, insurance and other health care payers, quality assurance, credentialing, technical, research, public and private social and community organizations, and other health industry organizations and their management deal with governance; credentialing, patient relations and care; staffing, peer review, human resources and workforce performance management; outsourcing; internal controls and regulatory compliance; billing and reimbursement; physician, employment, vendor, managed care, government and other contracting; business transactions; grants; tax-exemption and not-for-profit; licensure and accreditation; vendor selection and management; privacy and data security; training; risk and change management; regulatory affairs and public policy and other concerns.
As a core component of her work, Ms. Stamer has worked extensively throughout her career with health care providers, health plans and insurers, managed care organizations, health care clearinghouses, their business associates, employers, banks and other financial institutions, management services organizations, professional associations, medical staffs, accreditation agencies, auditors, technology and other vendors and service providers, and others on legal and operational compliance, risk management and compliance, public policies and regulatory affairs, contracting, payer-provider, provider-provider, vendor, patient, governmental and community relations and matters including extensive involvement advising, representing and defending public and private hospitals and health care systems; physicians, physician organizations and medical staffs; specialty clinics and pharmacies; skilled nursing, home health, rehabilitation and other health care providers and facilities; medical staff, accreditation, peer review and quality committees and organizations; billing and management services organizations; consultants; investors; technology, billing and reimbursement and other services and product vendors; products and solutions consultants and developers; investors; managed care organizations, insurers, self-insured health plans and other payers; and other health industry clients to establish and administer compliance and risk management policies; comply with requirements, investigate and respond to Board of Medicine, Health, Nursing, Pharmacy, Chiropractic, and other licensing agencies, Department of Aging & Disability, FDA, Drug Enforcement Agency, OCR Privacy and Civil Rights, Department of Labor, IRS, HHS, DOD, FTC, SEC, CDC and other public health, Department of Justice and state attorneys’ general and other federal and state agencies; JCHO and other accreditation and quality organizations; private litigation and other federal and state health care industry investigation, enforcement including insurance or other liability management and allocation; process and product development, contracting, deployment and defense; evaluation, commenting or seeking modification of regulatory guidance, and other regulatory and public policy advocacy; training and discipline; enforcement, and a host of other related concerns for public and private health care providers, health insurers, health plans, technology and other vendors, employers, and others.and other compliance, public policy, regulatory, staffing, and other operations and risk management concerns.
Past Chair of the ABA Managed Care & Insurance Interest Group and, a Fellow in the American College of Employee Benefit Counsel, the American Bar Foundation and the Texas Bar Foundation, Ms. Stamer also has extensive health care reimbursement and insurance experience advising and defending health care providers, payers, and others about Medicare, Medicaid, Medicare and Medicaid Advantage, Tri-Care, self-insured group, association, individual and group and other health benefit programs and coverages including but not limited to advising public and private payers about coverage and program design and documentation, advising and defending providers, payers and systems and billing services entities about systems and process design, audits, and other processes; provider credentialing, and contracting; providers and payer billing, reimbursement, claims audits, denials and appeals, coverage coordination, reporting, direct contracting, False Claims Act, Medicare & Medicaid, ERISA, state Prompt Pay, out-of-network and other nonpar insured, and other health care claims, prepayment, post-payment and other coverage, claims denials, appeals, billing and fraud investigations and actions and other reimbursement and payment related investigation, enforcement, litigation and actions.
Heavily involved in health care and health information technology, data and related process and systems development, policy and operations innovation and a Scribe for ABA JCEB annual agency meeting with OCR for many years who has authored numerous highly-regarded works and training programs on HIPAA and other data security, privacy and use, Ms. Stamer also is widely recognized for her extensive work and leadership on leading edge health care and benefit policy and operational issues including meaningful use and EMR, billing and reimbursement, quality measurement and reimbursement, HIPAA, FACTA, PCI, trade secret, physician and other medical confidentiality and privacy, federal and state data security and data breach and other information privacy and data security rules and many other concerns. Her work includes both regulatory and public policy advocacy and thought leadership, as well as advising and representing a broad range of health industry and other clients about policy design, drafting, administration, business associate and other contracting, risk assessments, audits and other risk prevention and mitigation, investigation, reporting, mitigation and resolution of known or suspected violations or other incidents and responding to and defending investigations or other actions by plaintiffs, DOJ, OCR, FTC, state attorneys’ general and other federal or state agencies, other business partners, patients and others.
Ms. Stamer has worked extensively with health care providers, health plans, health care clearinghouses, their business associates, employers and other plan sponsors, banks and other financial institutions, and others on risk management and compliance with HIPAA, FACTA, trade secret and other information privacy and data security rules, including the establishment, documentation, implementation, audit and enforcement of policies, procedures, systems and safeguards, investigating and responding to known or suspected breaches, defending investigations or other actions by plaintiffs, OCR and other federal or state agencies, reporting known or suspected violations, business associate and other contracting, commenting or obtaining other clarification of guidance, training and enforcement, and a host of other related concerns. Her clients include public and private health care providers, health insurers, health plans, technology and other vendors, and others. In addition to representing and advising these organizations, she also has conducted training on Privacy & The Pandemic for the Association of State & Territorial Health Plans, as well as HIPAA, FACTA, PCI, medical confidentiality, insurance confidentiality and other privacy and data security compliance and risk management for Los Angeles County Health Department, MGMA, ISSA, HIMMS, the ABA, SHRM, schools, medical societies, government and private health care and health plan organizations, their business associates, trade associations and others.
A former lead consultant to the Government of Bolivia on its Pension Privatization Project with extensive domestic and international public policy and governmental and regulatory affairs experience, Ms. Stamer also is widely recognized for regulatory and policy work, advocacy and outreach on healthcare, education, aging, disability, savings and retirement, workforce, ethics, and other policies. Throughout her adult life and career, Ms. Stamer has provided thought leadership; policy and program design, statutory and regulatory development design and analysis; drafted legislation, proposed regulations and other guidance, position statements and briefs, comments and other critical policy documents; advised, assisted and represented health care providers, health plans and insurers, employers, professional. and trade associations, community and government leaders and others on health care, health, pension and retirement, workers’ compensation, Social Security and other benefit, insurance and financial services, tax, workforce, aging and disability, immigration, privacy and data security and a host of other international and domestic federal, state and local public policy and regulatory reforms through her involvement and participation in numerous client engagements, founder and Executive Director of the Coalition for Responsible Health Policy and its PROJECT COPE: the Coalition on Patient Empowerment, adviser to the National Physicians Congress for Healthcare Policy, leadership involvement with the US-Mexico Chamber of Commerce, the Texas Association of Business, the ABA JCEB, Health Law, RPTE, Tax, Labor, TIPS, International Life Sciences, and other Sections and Committees, SHRM Governmental Affairs Committee and a host of other involvements and activities.
A popular lecturer and widely published author on health industry concerns, Ms. Stamer continuously advises health industry clients about compliance and internal controls, workforce and medical staff performance, quality, governance, reimbursement, privacy and data security, and other risk management and operational matters. Ms. Stamer also publishes and speaks extensively on health and managed care industry regulatory, staffing and human resources, compensation and benefits, technology, public policy, reimbursement and other operations and risk management concerns. Her insights on these and other related matters appear in the Health Care Compliance Association, Atlantic Information Service, Bureau of National Affairs, The Wall Street Journal, Business Insurance, the Dallas Morning News, Modern Health Care, Managed Healthcare, Health Leaders, and a many other national and local publications.
A Fellow in the American College of Employee Benefit Counsel, the American Bar Foundation and the Texas Bar Foundation, Ms. Stamer also shares her thought leadership, experience and advocacy on these and other related concerns by her service in the leadership of the Solutions Law Press, Inc. Coalition for Responsible Health Policy, its PROJECT COPE: Coalition on Patient Empowerment, and a broad range of other professional and civic organizations including North Texas Healthcare Compliance Association, a founding Board Member and past President of the Alliance for Healthcare Excellence, past Board Member and Board Compliance Committee Chair for the National Kidney Foundation of North Texas; former Board President of the early childhood development intervention agency, The Richardson Development Center for Children (now Warren Center For Children); current Vice Chair of the ABA Tort & Insurance Practice Section Employee Benefits Committee, current Vice Chair of Policy for the Life Sciences Committee of the ABA International Section, Past Chair of the ABA Health Law Section Managed Care & Insurance Section, a current Defined Contribution Plan Committee Co-Chair, former Group Chair and Co-Chair of the ABA RPTE Section Employee Benefits Group, past Representative and chair of various committees of ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits; a ABA Health Law Coordinating Council representative, former Coordinator and a Vice-Chair of the Gulf Coast TEGE Council TE Division, past Chair of the Dallas Bar Association Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Committee, a former member of the Board of Directors of the Southwest Benefits Association and others.
Ms. Stamer also is a highly popular lecturer, symposium and chair, faculty member and author, who publishes and speaks extensively on health and managed care industry, human resources, employment and other privacy, data security and other technology, regulatory and operational risk management. Examples of her many highly regarded publications on these matters include “Protecting & Using Patient Data In Disease Management: Opportunities, Liabilities And Prescriptions,” “Privacy Invasions of Medical Care-An Emerging Perspective,” “Cybercrime and Identity Theft: Health Information Security: Beyond HIPAA,” as well as thousands of other publications, programs and workshops these and other concerns for the American Bar Association, ALI-ABA, American Health Lawyers, Society of Human Resources Professionals, the Southwest Benefits Association, the Society of Employee Benefits Administrators, the American Law Institute, Lexis-Nexis, Atlantic Information Services, The Bureau of National Affairs (BNA), InsuranceThoughtLeaders.com, Benefits Magazine, Employee Benefit News, Texas CEO Magazine, HealthLeaders, the HCCA, ISSA, HIMSS, Modern Healthcare, Managed Healthcare, Institute of Internal Auditors, Society of CPAs, Business Insurance, Employee Benefits News, World At Work, Benefits Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, the Dallas Morning News, the Dallas Business Journal, the Houston Business Journal, and many other symposia and publications. She also has served as an Editorial Advisory Board Member for human resources, employee benefit and other management focused publications of BNA, HR.com, Employee Benefit News, Insurance Thought Leadership and many other prominent publications and speaks and conducts training for a broad range of professional organizations.
For more information about Ms. Stamer or her health industry and other experience and involvements, see here or contact Ms. Stamer via telephone at (469) 767-8872 or via e-mail here.
Call To Action: Become a Project COPE Healthcare Hero
Follow, like and share our articles and resources in this ProjectCOPE.blog, and follow, like, share your comments and ideas, and participate in our Facebook page @ProjectCOPECOALITION or on LinkedIn to
- Learn and share tips, tools and other information on how you and your family can manage your health and wellness needs.
- Get and share ideas on how to understand, shape and use your healthcare and health coverage.
- Share your ideas and input about health and health coverage issues and policies with elected leaders and regulators?
- Monitor health, wellness and other developments.
- Help your providers, family, friends and community cope with health care, disability, aging and wellness challenges.
- Get educated! Learn about what’s happening in Washington and communities across the country to help or hurt healthcare quality and access and how you can help make things better or influence how these developments affect people you care about.
- Get involved and recruit others to join the cause!
Despite an endless stream of well-meaning market and governmental reforms over the past 25 years, the U.S. health care system is in crisis. American patients, their families and other caregivers, their employers, their health benefit programs, their health care providers, the communities and even our federal health care budget increasingly are burdened and overwhelmed by the mounting obstacles to caring for our ill, disabled, and aging citizens within our health care system and the extraordinary expense of maintaining and using that system.
As Congress takes up reform again, it is critical that Americans act to protect their own and their families’ health care and control the financial burdens of health care by getting informed, providing clear and consistent direction to Congress and other reformers and taking other actions to empower and care for themselves and their loved ones within our evolving health care system.
About Solutions Law Press, Inc.™
Solutions Law Press, Inc.™ provides human resources and employee benefit and other business risk management, legal compliance, management effectiveness and other coaching, tools and other resources, training and education on leadership, governance, human resources, employee benefits, data security and privacy, insurance, health care and other key compliance, risk management, internal controls and operational concerns. If you find this of interest, you also be interested reviewing some of our other Solutions Law Press, Inc.™ resources here such as:
- Relationships Matter
- OFCCP Extends TRICARE Affirmative Action Morotorium
- Trump Blue Print To Reduce Drug Costs Announced
- 2018 Family HSA Deductible Contribution Limit Restored To $6,900
- New HHS Webpage Highlights HHS Administrative Actions to Empower Patients
- $400K HIPAA Settlement Shows Need To Conduct Timely & Appropriate Risk Assessments
- NLRB Ruling Shows Healthcare Employers Face Uphill Battle Before NLRB
- Long-Term Care Hospitals Should Review Their Latest HHS Quality Data Reports
- IRS Warns About Payroll Data Scam
- Trump Administration Grants Fiduciary Rule Prohibited Transaction Relief
- Read Latest Version of Republican Health Reform Bill
- Teach Patients To Protect Against Healthcare Associated Illnesses
- Update CMS Bookmarks By April 3
- $5.5M Memorial HIPAA Resolution Agreement Shows Need To Audit
- Learn From Children’s New $3.2M+ HIPAA CMP For “Knowing” Violation of HIPAA Security Rules
- Applications Open For Grants to Improve Public Health Cross-Jurisdictional Sharing
- Court Stays HHS 1557 Regs
- New CMS Rules Targets Dialysis Provider Private Health Plan Steering
- Prepare For Changing IRS Tax-Exempt Org & Employee Plan Audit & Exam Info Request Rules
- 2017 CMS Hospital OPPS & ACS Payment System UProposed Determinationates Released
- $2.7M OCR Settlement Warns HIPAA Covered Entities To Clean Up Compliance
- $2.4M+ St. Joseph Health HIPAA Settlement Teaching Lesson For Other HIPAA-Covered Entities & Business Associates
- Healthcare Fraud Exposures Significant & Rising For Owners, Execs & Other Leaders
- New Rule Gives ONC More Power Over Electronic Health Record Providers
- CMS Publishes Final MACRA Rule
- Tenet To Pay $513M For Anti-kickback Law Guilty Plea
- NY AG Opens Antitrust Investigation Into EpiPen Maker Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc.
- HHS, HUD and DOJ Letter Warns State/Local Agencies Against Denying Immigrants Life & Safety Benefits
- Colleges post 2016 can pay student health premiums without triggering ACA penalty
- New ACA Student Health Insurance Guidance Allows College Payment Of Working Students’ Student Health Insurance Premiums Post 2016
- FTC, state law deceptive trade practices
- ERISA Violations Cost More Now
- CMS Clarifies Home Health Form CMS-10280 Effective Date
- New Rule Gives ONC Power To Pull Noncompliant EHR Products
- IRS Qualified Plan Correction Procedures Changing 1/1/17
- Govt & payer mis-“management” increase
- DOL Invites FLSA Section 14(c) Certificateholders Test Prototype Application
- William Cowen New NLRB Regional Director In Southern California
- EBSA Gives ERISA Regulatory Relief To Louisiana Storm Victim
- Manage Retaliation Risks In Response To UProposed Determinationated EEOC Enforcement Guidance, Rising Retaliation Claims
- OSHA Helping Whistleblowers Win $$$ Faster With New Expedited Case Pilot Program
- All Covered Entities Should Learn Lessons From Mississippi Medical Center’s $2.75 Million HIPAA Resolution Agreement
- Chandy New Head Of HHS OCR Civil Rights Division
- Providers, Health Plans Should Confirm Copy Charges Comply With New OCR HIPAA Guidance
- $2 Million+ HIPAA Settlement, FAQ Warn Providers Protect PHI From Media, Other Recording Or Use
- Provider Pays $750K To Settle HIPAA Business Associate Rule Breach Charges
- Redesigned OCR Website Launched
- Civil Rights Settlement Highlights Health Industry Discrimination Risks As OCR Prepares To Broaden Requirements
- Use Free Cyber Security Awareness Month Resources To Boost HIPAA & Other Cyber Security Training & Skills
- NLRB 29 Unfair Labor Practice Charges Against Community Health Systems, Inc. Shows Industry Labor Risks
- Health Insurer/Vendor’s Claims & Appeals Deficiencies Could Trigger Significant Employer Excise Tax Liability
- HIPAA Settlement Warns Health Plans, Sponsoring Employers & Business Associates To Manage HIPAA Risks
- If you or someone else you know would like to receive future updates about developments on these and other concerns, please be sure that we have your current contact information including your preferred e-mail by creating your profile here.
©2018 Cynthia Marcotte Stamer. Image credit to collegedirection.org. Non-exclusive right to republish granted to Solutions Law Press, Inc.™ All other rights reserved. For information about republication or other use, please contact Ms. Stamer here.
