Ok, well maybe not in those exact words. But the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced over the June 22 weekend that it was extending the review of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, which bore the HIPAA mega-rule, for an “undetermined” time period, according to the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs latest list of submissions under review.
The mega-rule, a composite of four separate final rules aimed to enhance data security and weed out fraud, was sent to the OMB office for a 90-day final review March 24 with a decision expected by June 24. Review extensions are granted for up to 90 days or indefinitely, at the rulemaking agency’s discretion, i.e. HHS.
This latest delay may prove HHS’ end-of-summer projection for the mega-rule’s release touted by its National Health IT Coordinator Farzad Mostashari at this year’s Health Privacy Summit to be true.
Or not.
Stay tuned.