Comment Deadline Extended For The HIPAA Proposed Privacy Rule

On March 9, 2021, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights announced that the public comment period for the HIPAA proposed privacy rule would be extended until May 6, 2021. The rulemaking was published in the Federal Register on January 21, 2021, with an initial comment deadline of March 22, 2021. Noting the potential for confusion concerning the impact of the Regulatory Freeze announced on January 20, 2021, the agency determined that "the public may need additional time to review the proposals and submit comments."

The proposed rule, which contains nearly 100 requests for comment, would make significant and far-reaching changes to the HIPAA privacy regime. As stated in the press release announcing the extension of the comment period, "OCR encourages and will carefully consider comments from all stakeholders, including patients and their families, consumer advocates, HIPAA covered entities (health plans, health care clearinghouses and