Egan appointed Village Attorney for Mastic Beach

The cover story in today's Long Island Advance breaks the news of firm partner Brian T. Egan, Esq. being appointed by the Mayor, and unanimously confirmed by the Board of Trustees, as the new Village Attorney for Mastic Beach Village. He also serves as the Village Attorney for Patchogue Village. Egan currently serves as Chairman of the Municipal Law Committee for the Suffolk County Bar Association.

HIPAA Audits Coming Soon to a Practice Near You!

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Civil Rights (OCR), which is the main enforcer of HIPAA data privacy and security laws, recently released its HIPAA privacy and security audit protocols. The OCR HIPAA Audit program analyzes processes, controls, and policies of selected covered entities pursuant to the HITECH Act audit mandate. There are three main areas of HIPAA security and privacy that are covered:


• First, the audit protocol covers Privacy Rule requirements for (1) notice of privacy practices for Protected Health Information (PHI), (2) rights to request privacy protection for PHI, (3) access of individuals to PHI, (4) administrative requirements, (5) uses and disclosures of PHI, (6) amendment of PHI, and (7) accounting of disclosures.

• Second, the audit protocol covers Security Rule requirements for administrative, physical, and technical safeguards

• Third, the audit protocol covers requirements for the Breach Notification Rule.

**A full list of 165 performance criteria can be found here.

During the 2012 annual meeting of the American Health Lawyers Association, Senior OCR Advisor David Mayer, while speaking about the new protocols, announced that the OCR plans to continue its audit program in 2013 and 2014 and has been allocated the funding to do so. He stated that all covered entities, particularly small providers who historically have constituted a high proportion of HIPAA violations, should take the opportunity to use the audit protocols as a guide to draft or revamp their HIPAA compliance policies and procedures as well as to devise a plan of action to respond to audits in an organized and comprehensive manner.

The attorneys at the law firm of Egan & Golden, LLP can assist you with any questions regarding HIPAA compliance or HIPAA audit response plans.

NOTABLE RECENT HIPAA SETTLEMENTS:

Phoenix Cardiac Surgery, P.C. has agreed to pay a $100,000 fine and implement a corrective action plan under a Resolution Agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) after a lengthy investigation into potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy and Security Rules. (Full story at here.)

The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) has agreed to pay the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) $1,700,000 to settle possible violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Security Rule. Alaska DHSS has also agreed to take corrective action to properly safeguard the electronic protected health information (ePHI) of their Medicaid beneficiaries. (Fully story at here)

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee (BCBST) has agreed to pay the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) $1,500,000 to settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy and Security Rules, Leon Rodriguez, Director of the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR), announced today. BCBST has also agreed to a corrective action plan to address gaps in its HIPAA compliance program. The enforcement action is the first resulting from a breach report required by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act Breach Notification Rule. (Full story at here)

Moody's Raises Patchogue Village's Bond Rating

Our firm congratulates the Mayor and Patchogue Village Board on this milestone bond rating increase. Following a crowded three way race, Mayor Pontieri  was elected to a historic third term by an overwhelming margin. Firm partner Brian T. Egan, Esq. serves as the Village Attorney, and was reappointed to a second term on the re-election of Mayor Pontieri. The Long island Business News story is here

Egan & Golden Successfully Defends Village in Suit Seeking Shutdown of $100 Million Development Project

Egan & Golden, LLP successfully defended the Village of Patchogue and its Board of Trustees in a suit seeking to overturn a recently approved local law creating a Downtown Redevelopment District. Plaintiffs, a small group of residents and business owners, also challenged a site plan, submitted by Downtown Patchogue Redevelopers, LLC, that calls for the construction of the “New Village at Patchogue,” a 291-unit apartment and retail space complex in Patchogue’s bustling Main Street area.


The Supreme Court decision found that Plaintiff’s allegations of illegality and procedural impropriety were “devoid of pleaded facts to support their vague and conclusory constitutional claims.” The Court further held that the “local law itself reflects that the decision to create a downtown redevelopment district was based on a comprehensive plan for the revitalization of the downtown area, and accordingly was not intended to single out Downtown’s property to the detriment of other property owners.” Firm partner Brian T. Egan was asissted by associate Christopher Bianco in the defense of the case.

The dismissal ends nearly two years of political wrangling over the site of the long-abandoned Swezey’s Department Store. With the Court’s dismissal of Plaintiffs’ claims, the Tritec Real Estate Company can go forward with construction of the $100 million development. The New Village at Patchogue is the latest project in the Village’s long-term redevelopment plan which has revitalized the downtown area and fostered a budding local arts scene.

In celebration of a FIRST in Suffolk County

Photo credit: Ed Betz/Newsday

You don't get many opportunities to celebrate a "first". Rarer still are American "firsts", that are often relegated to dusty history books or ancient memories. That is why the firm was delighted to participate in the celebration of the trailblazing career of retired NY Supreme Court Justice Marquette Floyd. Justice Floyd was Suffolk County's first black judge, and a decade after his retirement, remains the county's sole black justice. The firm joined members of the bench, bar and community on Friday to celebrate the unveiling of Justice Floyd's official portrait. Firm partner Brian T. Egan, Esq. remarked, "As a young lawyer, Justice Floyd was an example to me of performing your duties as a lawyer with respect and decorum. He also inspired me that every problem has a solution, if the parties were willing to work hard together to find that solution." Egan & Golden salutes Justice Floyd on this momentous occasion.

Egan Judges Yale Trial Competition

Yale University School of Law, Wall Street, New Haven CT

Firm partner Brian T. Egan, Esq. was invited by the Yale Mock Trial Association to serve as a judge at the 2012 American Mock Trial Association (AMTA) Regional Tournament held on February 11 and February 12 at Yale University, in New Haven, CT. The tournament is a highly competitive event, drawing teams from some of the best schools in the nation, including teams from the Ivy League. The top placing teams will earn bids to compete at the AMTA National Tournaments and, most importantly, the National Championship Tournament. The tournament judges are selected from experienced trial attorneys and sitting judges. This was Egan’s second stint as a judge at the tournament, this time serving as the Presiding Judge in both rounds. “It was an excellent experience to again serve as a judge at Yale, and the caliber of the students’ preparation and trial work was very high” said Egan. Egan is a partner in the law firm of Egan & Golden, LLP, with offices in Patchogue and Wainscott, NY