Health Information Compliance Alert

Question: We work with an employer-sponsored health plan, but we are confused as to who should receive a notice of privacy practices (NPP). Does the privacy rule demand we supply each spouse and/or child covered by the subscriber's plan with our NPP?

Answer: "No," assures William Hubbartt of Hubbartt & Associates in St. Charles, IL. You must only provide the health plan participant with your NPP, he says.

Bottom line: You can provide your notice to participants' dependents if they request it, but you are not required to by the privacy rule.