Do payment activities include disclosures to collection agencies?
HIPAA Weekly Advisor, September 13, 2004
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Do payment activities include disclosures to collection agencies?
Yes. The HHS commentary notes that a collection agency may require protected health information to investigate and assess payment disputes for the covered entity. For example, the collection agency may need to know what services the covered entity rendered in order to resolve disputes about amounts due.
The information necessary may vary, depending on the nature of the dispute. Such disclosures, however, are subject to the minimum necessary requirements, which means that the covered entity must make reasonable efforts to limit disclosure to that information necessary to accomplish the purpose of the disclosure.
If the collection agency is performing a service for the covered entity, a business associate agreement will be required before the information can be disclosed.
For more information, see Section 164.501 Definitions: Payment for more information.
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