The Treasury announced further details on its Public-Private Investment Program (“PPIP”), which is a component of the Financial Stability Plan. The PPIP directly targets “legacy assets” - loans and mortgage-backed securities originated prior to 2009 which have fallen into distress following the collapse of real estate prices. The Treasury indicated that though the program initially targets real estate-related assets, it may evolve, based on market demand, to include other asset classes. [Read more →]

New Measure Makes Technology Company and Other Business Associates Independently Subject to HIPAA and Imposes Breach Notification Obligations Among Other Changes

On February 17, 2009, in response to concerns over continually weakening economic conditions, President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (“ARRA”). The ARRA has received a lot of attention for its tax and spending provisions. However, the legislation also makes very significant changes to certain aspects of healthcare regulation, in particular, the privacy and security of health information. Title XIII of ARRA, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (“HITECH Act”), dedicates $22 billion in federal funding to advance the use of health information technology. Recognizing that effective data privacy and security is a necessary prerequisite to the digitization of our healthcare system, Subtitle D of the HITECH Act also modifies dramatically the applicability of the security and privacy regulations that govern health-related information, as previously promulgated under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”). Some of the most significant modifications are highlighted below. For more information click here.

President Obama’s fiscal year 2010 budget proposal, which was submitted to Congress on February 26, 2009, calls for legislation to tax “carried interests” as ordinary income beginning in 2011. Although the proposal offers few specifics, if enacted in any form, the legislation could affect virtually all venture capital, private equity, hedge, real estate and other similar private investment funds. For more information click here.