Mediaboss Marketing

As part of the Biden administrations focus on enforcement of the No Surprises Act (NSA), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has issued a bulletin (the Bulletin) indicating that it will closely review the practices of those engaged in the collection or reporting of medical debt, will hold debt collectors accountable for failing to comply with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and Regulation F, and will hold consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) and furnishers accountable for failing to comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and Regulation V. The Bulletin is accessible here.

The NSA protects consumers from certain surprise medical bills for services arising from care provided at out-of-network emergency rooms and for services by out-of-network physicians at in-network hospitals. If the patient is insured, the NSA limits patient cost-sharing to the amount the patient would have been required to pay if the facility or provider had been in-network and limits the amount the insurer must pay to the facility or provider to an agreed amount or the amount decided pursuant to state or federal dispute resolution processes. If the patient is uninsured, the NSA prohibits the facility or provider from charging substantially more than the facilitys or providers good-faith estimate for the items or services provided. The NSA prohibits facilities and providers from billing patients for amounts in excess of these limits and imposes certain dispute resolution processes if consumers assert that an amount exceeds NSA limits. (See our recent update on the NSA implementation here, more information on NSA state guidance here, and details on the second interim final rule here and the first NSA regulation here.)

In the Bulletin, the CFPB reminds debt collectors that a debt collector who represents that a consumer owes a debt arising from out-of-network charges for emergency services may violate the prohibition on misrepresentations if those charges exceed the amount permitted by the NSA and that collecting an amount in excess of that allowed under the NSA would violate the prohibition on unfair or unconscionable debt collection practices. Prior statements by the CFPB concerning debt collection practices suggest that even first-party debt collectors not subject to the FDCPA may also be liable for such activity under the CFPBs unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices (UDAAP) authority.

In addition, the Bulletin points out that debt collectors and others who furnish information to CRAs and the CRAs to which such information is reported may violate the FCRA and Regulation V if they report inaccurate information, such as medical debts that exceed the amount owed under the NSA, or include such amounts in a consumer report.

The CFPB states that it will use all appropriate tools to assess whether supervisory, enforcement or other action may be necessary. As a result, health care providers and facilities and the debt collectors to whom they may refer medical bills covered by the NSA should exercise caution and make certain that they understand the provisions of the NSA. Their policies and procedures should be reviewed and updated to ensure that they do not seek to collect an amount in excess of that owed by the patient under the NSA. CRAs and furnishers should also review their investigatory procedures and ensure that they have appropriate staffing to address what could be an increase in the number and complexity of disputes as consumers become increasingly aware of their rights under the NSA.

The rest is here:
CFPB Will Enforce Laws Preventing the Collection/Reporting of Medical Debts Barred by the NSA - JD Supra

India's fifth and current NSA National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of India, Ajit Doval is often often called the James Bond of India as the patriot has spent his life for the country and provide information to the army in the midst of the enemy. Doval has spent 40 years of his life in oblivion for the sake of the countrys defence.

Ajit Doval was born on 20th January 1945 in Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand.

His father Gunanand Doval was an army man, so his elementary education was at Ajmer Military School. In 1967, he received a Masters Degree with the first position in Economics from Agra University.

He then went into the preparations for the IPs, which he made in 1968 from the Kerala cadre and became a police officer. Four years later, he joined the Intelligence Bureau in 1972.

As Ajit Doval turns 77 today, Netizens took to Twitter to salute the NSA for his extra-ordinary services to the nation and wished him a very happy birthday.

Take a look:

Doval as an NSA spearheaded both the surgical strikes killing 35-40 terrorists in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). In 2015 he led the team that killed the militants in Myanmar in the border. And on the night of 29th September 2016, he monitored a successful surgical strike operation in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

(To receive our E-paper on whatsapp daily, please click here. We permit sharing of the paper's PDF on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.)

Go here to read the rest:
NSA Ajit Doval turns 77: Netizens salute the brave son of Maa Bharti on his birthday - Free Press Journal

ISLAMABAD: The National Security Adviser (NSA) has said that issues related to civil-military balance and working relationship and capacity of institutions to implement the policy are complicated issues and expressed the hope that we will be able to deal with these issues through the newly-formulated National Security Policy (NSP).

During an interview with Geo TV on Friday, the NSA said that we have a bitter history of civil-military ties but we have witnessed a consensus in formulation of the NSP as all the state organs have contributed to the formulation of the policy. He also expressed his firm belief that institutions related to implementation of policy have had capacity issues in the past but we need to work it out.

National Security Adviser, Moeed Yousaf, was talking to Geo News in programme Naya Pakistan after the launch of public version of National Security Policy for the first time.

Anchor of the show Shahzad Iqbal asked the NSA about the difference of newly-formulated policy from the existing unwritten policy being exercised, Unwritten security policy was wish-driven, everyone in the past was pursuing the policy as one desired to do so, Moeed replied. He further added that in the absence of an umbrella document, covering all the aspects of national security, confusion and overlapping of the policy was being seen. Now we have determined a direction for all the organs and institutions formulating the National Security Policy, the NSA emphasized.

Moeed was quite categorical in his view about the scope of national security in changed global perspective and said that physical security of a citizen depends upon the economic security.

When asked how this new NSP would be implemented, he said that the mechanism is quite clear. There is a National Security Division, which apart from formulating the policy, has a mandate and scope to implement it. Probably this is the only policy to be implemented this way, the NSA added. He further said that there is then another prestigious forum named the National Security Committee, headed by the prime minister, with services chiefs being the members along with the senior ministers of cabinet. This committee will review the progress of implementation of the policy on monthly basis.

The NSA also quoted the reasons for keeping a portion of the NSP classified and declared it as the need of the hour. He said the PM wanted to release the full document to public but then in meetings he agreed to keep a few parts confidential. Sensitive and prone-to-misinterpretation points are kept classified, Moeed added.

Moeeds attention was drawn to another aspect that this report, which has put the economic security at the core, is being launched in a time and environment when ministers are portraying the passage of mini-budget as their success, which was tabled and passed on the precondition of IMF for restoration of Extended Facility Fund program. Moeed in reply to this question said that this policy wont impact the affairs of yesterday, today and tomorrow. It has a broader vision and impact and it is devised for the next five years, which could be extended beyond this set period.

Apart from these facial impacts and implications of the policy, detailed content of the launched policy also came under the scope of the discussion during the show. An important part of the policy is Pakistans approach towards India, particularly in prevailing situation. It was reported that this policy might bring a paradigm shift in policy towards India, but the NSA termed such reporting baseless and said that any major policy shift in this regard was dependent upon the atmosphere in India. We will have to wait for India coming back to its senses, the NSA said. He further added that Pakistan has always wanted normalcy in ties with India, but this cant be achieved by Pakistans wish only.

Pakistan, through this document, set a policy goal of not being a part of camp-politics. He was asked if achieving this goal is possible for Pakistan or not, particularly keeping the US-China cold-war in view and Pakistans position in it, the NSA answered that the policy is devised to steer our direction. If any country doesnt respect Pakistans intent and decision in this regard, Pakistans ties with that particular country would be affected. We are clear and shown our clarity that we want to be a bridge, not divide.

Other than issues pertinent to the foreign policy, a part of comprehensive National Security Policy, internal security matters were also discussed in detail during the show. When reminded that we have seen the State dealing with forces internally, who had created a situation of law and order in recent past, the NSA said in this regard use of the force was the last resort for the state and this was decided in principle that no one could be allowed to challenge the writ of the State. Dealing with elements vary case to case, the NSA emphasized. He further added that the State has to segregate between reconcilable and irreconcilable elements before reaching finality. He said that the State, at times, bears the hit of optics and public perception in such cases by assessing minimum damage and maximum good.

Here is the original post:
Newly-formulated National Security Policy: Policy to help resolve issues of civil-military balance, says NSA - The News International

FOLLOWING on from its success in 2021, the NSAs series of Breakfast Club webinars is returning for the new year with speakers looking forward to sharing useful and up to date information with sheep farmers and other interested parties throughout 2022.

Providing sponsorship to assist in the delivery of the Breakfast Club sessions this year is longstanding NSA supporter Roythornes, an agricultural law firm.

Mark Dodds, Marketing Manager at Roythornes, said: Were delighted to be sponsoring the NSA Breakfast Club webinars as they are clearly valued by members of the NSA and provide an invaluable source of information in a sometimes-complicated world.

The first NSA Breakfast Club of the year took place on January 12 on the theme ofWho Will Eat UK Sheep Meat in 2022?

The second session of the year will take place on Wednesday, February 2, and will discuss how the industry can serve the international demand for UK sheep genetics. To find out more about the free online events and register to attend please visit the NSA website.

The NSA Breakfast Club webinars became a valued source of information for many farmers and those working in the allied industries during 2021. All previous webinars are available to watch again by visiting http://www.nationalsheep.org.uk/webinars.

Read this article:
NSA's Breakfast Club webinars continue this year | Darlington and Stockton Times - Darlington and Stockton Times

Shreveport, La., Mayor Adrian Perkins (L-R), David Burns, director of technology and innovation for the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Austin, Texas, Mayor Steve Adler, Jen Easterly, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, andAugusta, Ga., Mayor Hardie Davis, Jr. attend the session on cybersecurity.Photo by Ariel Gans/Medill News Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 20 (UPI) -- Cities can't always prevent cyberattacks, but they can take steps to mitigate and recover from breaches, the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency told those attending a the U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting Thursday.

Some of those measures include "cyber-hygiene" practices, such as using complex passwords, updating software and implementing multi-factor authentication, agency Director Jen Easterly said.

For mayors attending the U.S. Conference of Mayors 90th winter meeting, cybersecurity risks are an increasingly pressing problem. For example, major ransomware attacks occurred under Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms in 2018 and Baltimore Mayor Bernard Young in 2019.

According to Easterly, nobody is immune from these attacks, so mayors should focus on building their cities' resilience.

"It is increasingly difficult to prevent bad things from happening," Easterly said, advising mayors to build a system to plan, prepare and develop resources for cyberthreats. In that way, they can "reduce the damage that they're going to have to go through to rebuild systems," she said.

Easterly told the mayors that cybersecurity should not focus on technology, but rather on people and incentivizing them to practice cyber hygiene. Like physical hygiene practices such as brushing teeth or washing hands, cyber hygiene includes updating software and ensuring passwords are complex and unique, she said.

Most importantly, she said, mayors need to implement multi-factor authentication - a second piece of identification needed to prove identity when logging into accounts.

"If you implement MFA, you are about 99% less likely to get hacked," Easterly said.

Her speech came a day after President Joe Biden signed a memorandum expanding the National Security Agency's ability to protect sensitive government computer networks.

The memorandum, required by his executive order, "Improving the Nation's Security," authorizes the NSA to issue directives that require agencies to identify their national security systems and protect against cyber threats.

It also makes cybersecurity practices, such as encryption and multi-factor authentication, mandatory for national security systems, the Defense Department and Intelligence Community systems.

"Cyber criminals are also looking at what your mayor is paying, what your team is paying, in terms of all of the things that you're doing to keep their city safe," Easterly said.

"So, cyber criminals are going to go after the soft underbelly for targeting, and if they think that you have invested those resources, they're probably not going to go after you."

Cities are not only impacted by external security breaches, but internal ones, too.

Lorain, Ohio, Mayor Jack W. Bradley described a situation in which the city auditor office filled a request for the salaries of all city employees by sending a spreadsheet via email.

The Excel spreadsheet she sent contained metadata with employees' last four digits of Social Security numbers, date of birth, home address and driver's license numbers.

A council member who received the spreadsheet then sent it out to a third party, unsolicited, leading to it being posted and shared by more than 800 people, Bradley said.

He said his office contacted its cyber insurance carrier, which was to send payments to the breach victims.

Said Easterly, "It has to be a leadership issue, at the end of the day, and people have to treat it as what it is, which is in some cases an existential risk."

See original here:
U.S. mayors pressed to address cybersecurity precautions - UPI News