Current Practice Issues
GENERAL INFORMATION
Loan Forgiveness For Social Workers
FEDERAL PROGRAMS
- Perkins Loan Forgiveness Program
Additional information: Check with your college or university financial aid office
Program for social workers working in public or private nonprofit child or family service agencies providing services to high risk children and families from low-income communities or social workers providing early intervention services to infants and toddlers with disabilities in public or private nonprofit agencies under IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act). Also available for teachers, nurses, law enforcement professionals.
Recipients of Federal Perkins Loan funds received after July 22, 1992 can qualify for postponement/cancellation of up to 100% of the loan. The cancellation takes place over 5 years. For each year of service completed, the student is entitled to cancellation of the loan at the following rates: Years 1 and 2 the loan is forgiven at 15% each year, Year 3 and 4 forgiven at 20% each year, and Year 5 of employment the loan is forgiven at 30%.
- National Health Service Corp - Federal Program
Additional information: See http://nhsc.bhpr.hrsa.gov/join_us/lrp.cfm
Fully trained health professionals, including clinical social workers, who are dedicated to working with the underserved and have qualifying educational loans are eligible to compete for repayment of those loans if they choose to serve in a community of greatest need. In addition to loan repayment, these clinicians receive a competitive salary, some tax relief benefits, and a chance to have a significant impact on a community.
- National Institutes of Health (NIH) - Loan Forgiveness for Researchers More information and on-line application: www.lrp.nih.gov
Program is for social workers and other professionals who are pursuing research careers in the areas of clinical, pediatric, contraception and infertility, or health disparities. Participants must possess a doctoral-level degree, devote 50% or more of their time to research funded by a non-profit organization or government entity (federal, state, or local), and have educational loan debt equal to or exceeding 20% of their institutional base salary.
OTHER FEDERAL RESOURCES
U.S. Department of Education: www.ed.gov or http://www.ed.gov/finaid/info/find/edpicks.jhtml?src=ov
Smart Student Guide to Financial Aid: www.finaid.org
Volunteer Organizations: www.finaid.org/loans/forgiveness.phtml
Military: www.finaid.org/loans/forgiveness.phtml
STATE PROGRAMS
- National Health Service Corp - State Loan Repayment Program For more information: See http://nhsc.bhpr.hrsa.gov/join_us/slrp.cfm
HIPAA INFORMATION
HIPAA Free Online Information
The following are links to free online information that may be useful
for
Montana social workers who are facing HIPAA compliance questions:
Montana's Uniform Health Care Information Act
Montana Code Annotated
http://data.opi.state.mt.us/bills/mca_toc/50_16_5.htm
Analysis of HIPAA and Montana's Uniform Health Care Information
Act: Which
law do you follow and when?
Montana Medical Association http://www.mmaoffice.com/pdfs/HIPPA_UHCIA.pdf
Florida NASW Chapter Newsletter.
January 2003
HIPAA – Big and Hungry, but Manageable
Michael Freeny, LCSW Clinicians are increasingly encountering the word “HIPAA”.
It appears in mailings for CE courses, in discussions about privacy,
in requests for extensions and compliance dates. Many mental health
professionals feel confused, overwhelmed, or frankly clueless about
this strange beast called HIPAA. Even those brave souls who try to
learn about it find that information is often contradictory or perplexing.
What follows is a brief overview about what you need to know, where
you can find it, and how important this should be.
What is HIPAA?
HIPAA is a shorthand term that stands for a collection of new federal
rules regarding the management of medical and mental health information.
The rules, or standards, grew from the original Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996, which allowed
people to take their employer sponsored health insurance with them
upon leaving a job (so called COBRA). The HIPAA rules about medical
records have been in development at HHS (Health and Human Services)
for years and are now nearing deadlines for compliance. All of healthcare
is abuzz with HIPAA talk.
The rules were developed to bring some consistency and efficiency
to the process of sharing medical information, making insurance claims,
and getting paid. Increasingly, national providers and insurers have
struggled with the differing laws and rules of 50 state venues. The
idea is to national standards for quick, easy, and painless processes
for sharing and authorizing treatment. In fact, these regulations
fall under the optimistically named “Administrative Simplification
Compliance Act”. HHS has the role of defining rules for electronic
claims, remittance, and eligibility information and standards for
protecting the privacy and security of medical information.
Who and What are Covered?
The regulations directly cover three health care entities; providers,
insurers, and claims clearing houses, collectively called “covered
entities”. This includes any provider of health services, hospitals,
clinics, agencies, and mental health providers. Originally the scope
of the legislation covered only those entities that use or transmit
electronic medical information.
Many professionals hoped for a loophole to dodge the regs by sticking
to a “paper-based” practice. However, to avoid discouraging
health providers from adopting information technology HHS expanded
the scope of the rules to include ALL medical records.
To qualify as “electronic”, information need only have
been typed in a letter on a computer, faxed to or from a computer,
a message left as voice mail, or transmitted electronically by anyone
in the chain of filing a claim, even the insurer.
What’s Involved in Complying?
Complying with the rules involves new behaviors, new policies, and
some training. Both small and large providers must research and document
their compliance with current rules (a gap analysis), develop or
tweak policies to comply, test certain systems, clarify some contracts
with vendors, prepare new disclosures, and train staff in proper
functioning.
Although the rules cover a lot of ground, three areas are of most
immediate concern to providers: Privacy Standards, Security Standards,
and Transaction Code Sets (not as scary as it sounds.) .
The Privacy Standards
Although some sources report that the privacy regulation is a mind
numbing 1500 pages long, it is realistically about 40 to 80 pages
long. The regulations become effective on April 14, 2003 and all “covered
entities” must be in compliance at that time.
The most visible result of this compliance will be the mandated
use of a “Statement of Privacy Practices” issued to clients
by all covered entities regarding how they protect, share, and disclose
personal medical information. Anyone with health insurance will receive
a Statement of Privacy Practices early next year. Many physicians
are already having patients sign one. After 4/14/03, all providers
must use them. The regulations expect that this document will replace
the traditional ‘consent for release of information” in
most routine circumstances. Psychotherapy notes are handled separately
from other patient information and will still require an authorization
for release.
The privacy rules detail a number of things the provider must decide
for their own Statement of Privacy Practices. Although there are
some sample templates available, the provider will want to know what
is required, what is discretionary, and what they have told the client
is the actual policy. HHS is responsible for enforcing compliance
and violations include both civil and criminal penalties from $100
to $250,000.
Security Standards
The security rules work in conjunction with the privacy rules to
secure the private medical information (called Protected Health Information
- PHI). These standards address protecting and securing the privacy,
integrity, availability, accessibility, and storage of medical information.
This includes passwords, backups, faxing, archiving, access, transmission,
etc. The rules don’t specify any hardware or software requirements,
but instead establish what must be accomplished. Again, the provider
will need to develop behaviors, policies, procedures, and training
to guard client data in any form (written, electronic, or oral).
.
The transactions and code set standards are probably the least understood
of all the adopted regulations, even by those one would expect to
know, like billing companies and software vendors. All covered entities
are supposed to be compliant as of October 15, 2002 unless they requested
a one-year extension from HHS. That deadline has passed, but many
sources report that these inscrutable, highly technical code-set
regulations are too murky for providers, so most medical professionals
are focusing their energy on meeting the privacy and security rules.
What Needs to be Done
Mental health professionals in solo or agency practice can expect
to devote some time and energy to these broad new rules. The importance
and impact of the new regulations shouldn’t be underestimated.
Many vendors will be offering training programs and compliance packages,
but realize that one size does not fit all and distributing forms
without understanding the meat of the regulations will be perilous.
Most practitioners and support staff will likely want to take a
six-hour course that covers the current rules and helps to develop
some documents and procedures for immediate use. Even as the deadlines
approach the approach should be systematic, not frenetic.
There are a number of information sources on the Internet and course
offerings will continue to filter through your mailbox. Mental Health
personnel and agencies should look for a course with expertise in
the particular needs and rules for psychotherapists.
Like the elephant in the living room, the hungry HIPAA can be tamed,
but it can’t be ignored.
References
www.naswdc.org
www.hippadvisory.com
http://aspe.hhs.gov/admnsimp/
http://www.clinicalCE.com
E-Mail: naswmt@mt.net
(406) 449-6208
25 S. Ewing, Suite 406
Helena, MT 59601
Fax 406/449-2533 |
