Jennifer Tharp

Connect: Read more about Jennifer Tharp
Firm/Organization: Squire Patton Boggs
Blogs: frESH, Triage Health Law

Latest Articles

On June 12, 2019, the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) announced its seven enforcement and compliance assurance priority areas for fiscal years 2020-2023. One of the National Compliance Initiatives includes “Stopping Aftermarket Defeat Devices for Vehicles and Engines.” Specifically, the Agency expressed that it will have a focus on reducing aftermarket defeat device manufacture, sale, and installation across vehicle types. Additionally, a recent case in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah has…
The Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) has greatly increased its activity around cybersecurity initiatives and medical devices. As we approach the end of the year, this is a great opportunity to review recent developments. FDA Medical Device Cybersecurity Guidance On October 18, 2018, the FDA published draft guidance, “Content of Premarket Submissions for Management of Cybersecurity in Medical Devices.” This draft replaces prior guidance from 2014, and the outlines recommendations for device design, data…
On August 31, 2018, the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) published its proposed rule providing a replacement to the Clean Power Plan (CPP).  The proposed rule, named the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule, outlines revised emissions guidelines and the process for states to submit plans for the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from affected electric utility generating units (EGUs).  Key components include a shift to “inside-the-fenceline” emission reduction measures at individual sources for the…
The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a statement on May 18, 2018 clarifying that the Agency will only analyze both upstream and downstream environmental effects of pipeline Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions when those effects are “sufficiently causally connected to and are reasonably foreseeable effects of the proposed actions.”  The policy statement was part of an order denying a request for rehearing of the certificate FERC granted to the Dominion Energy Transmission’s pipeline project.  The…
On May 1, 2018, 17 states, including California, as well as the District of Columbia filed a Petition for Review in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in response to US EPA’s announcement that it would be rolling back tailpipe emission standards. As we previously reported, California stated in April that it was actively considering a lawsuit to challenge the decision to revise tailpipe emissions. The other states involved in the new lawsuit include Connecticut, Delaware,…
A recent blog post summarized Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) enforcement settlements for Virtual Medical Group (“VMG”) in New Jersey and EmblemHealth in New York that may signal a broader trend of increased state HIPAA enforcement.  Under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (“HITECH”) Act’s amendment to HIPAA, codified at 42 U.S.C. § 1320d-5(d), state attorney generals have authority to bring civil actions in federal district court to enforce HIPAA…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) recently approved the Viz.Ai Contact application, a type of clinical decision support software designed to analyze computed tomography (CT) results that may notify providers of a potential stroke in their patients. In an article published March 8, 2018 as a PG Alert Email from the American Health Lawyers Association (“AHLA”), associate Jennifer M. Tharp discussed the recent approval of the software and its relation to the FDA’s increasing…
On October 16, 2017, US EPA, under Administrator Scott Pruitt, proposed the repeal of the Clean Power Plan (CPP), and the Agency is accepting comments on the repeal until April 26, 2018. Following a review of the statute’s language, surrounding policy, and legislative history, US EPA proposed to “return to a reading of CAA section 111(a)(1) … as being limited to emission reduction measures that can be applied to or at an individual stationary source.” US…