Nita Garg
Practice Areas
Industries
Education
- Loyola University Chicago School of Law, LL.M, 2012
- University of Texas School of Law, J.D., 2011
- University of Texas at Austin, B.A., 2008
Bar & Court Admissions
Nita is an associate in the Houston office and a member of the health care group. She focuses her practice on assisting clients with health care issues, including those related to fraud and abuse, HIPAA compliance and employment agreements. Nita also has experience in health care litigation.
Nita also counsels clients on privacy matters related to HIPAA, FERPA, and GDPR. She assists clients on both the front end of privacy compliance, such as drafting policies and employee training, and on the back end with breach response. She is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP) and a frequent writer on developments in domestic and international privacy.
Nita has previously worked in the legal services department of a hospital and in the Civil Medicaid Fraud Unit at the Office of the Attorney General of Texas, giving her expansive knowledge of the inner functions of the health care industry which helps her understand her clients’ needs.
Her Notable Experience Includes:
- Assisting a pharmacy client with state licensure and Medicare and Medicaid enrollment filings related to changes in ownership and control
- Representing a retail clinic client in various matters, including provider scope of practice, state licensure requirements and dispensing of controlled substances
- Aiding clients with various federal and state privacy matters, including the review and drafting of business associate agreements, training materials and breach response
- Assisting health care clients with the review and drafting of employment agreements, affiliation agreements and various services and management agreements
- Advising health care clients on health regulatory matters including state facility and laboratory licensure and Medicaid and Medicare enrollment and reimbursement matters
Nita has authored numerous articles and given several presentations on a wide variety of privacy and health care law topics including: privacy compliance (HIPAA, FERPA and GDPR) and data breaches; the Affordable Care Act; health information exchanges and developments employers need to know; the Physician Payments Sunshine Act (Open Payments Program); and payment systems in the health care industry.
Nita serves as an adjunct professor for the Loyola University Chicago School of Law, Beazley Institute for Health Law and Policy and is a member of the American Bar Association’s Health Law Section, the State Bar of Texas Health Law Section and the American Health Lawyers Association.
Nita received her J.D. from The University of Texas School of Law and her LL.M. in health law from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. She received a B.A. from the University of Texas.
Professional and Community Activities
- Adjunct Professor, Loyola University Chicago School of Law, Beazley Institute for Health Law and Policy
Teaching/Speaking Engagements
- "The Legal and Regulatory Environment in Health Care," Rice University Graduate School of Business, Rice Education in Management for Physician Trainees, April 2017
- "Physician Employment Contracts," Conroe Family Medicine Residency Program, May 2017
Honors & Awards
- Texas International Law Journal, Carl H. Fulda Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of International Law, 2011
News
Events
- 3/17/2020Vorys Associate Nita Garg spoke with the pediatric residents and fellows at Seattle Children’s Hospital on March 17, 2020.
- 6/24/2019Nita Garg, an associate in the Vorys Houston office, presented a webinar titled, “Your First Employment Contract: What Do You Need to Know?” for The American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, Young Physician Section on June 24, 2019.
- 4/6/2019Nita Garg, an associate in the Vorys Houston office, spoke at the 2019 Texas Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology Society (TAAIS) Allergy Practice Management Symposium on April 6, 2019.
- 11/29/2018Vorys associate, Nita Garg spoke at the Baylor College of Medicine Association of Women Surgeons on November 29, 2018.
- 10/25/2018On October 25, 2018, Vorys attorneys Akilah Craig and Nita Garg spoke at the Baylor College of Medicine Department of Otolaryngology Grand Rounds event regarding legal developments in the medical field.
- 9/13/2017Vorys attorneys Jonathan Ishee and Nita Garg presenting the second webinar of our HIPAA webinar series, titled “Hot Topics in Telehealth” on September 13, 2017.
- 9/12/2017Vorys attorneys Jonathan Ishee and Nita Garg were speakers at the Association of Corporate Counsel Houston Chapter Meeting on September 12, 2017.
- 9/12/2017Vorys attorneys Jonathan Ishee and Nita Garg spoke at the Houston ACC September Chapter Meeting on September 12, 2017. They presented on cybersecurity, privacy and other legal issues surrounding emerging technologies and the "internet of things."
- 6/21/2017Vorys attorneys Lisa Reisz and Liam Gruzs presented the first webinar of our HIPAA webinar series, titled “Top 10 HIPAA Compliance Pitfalls” on June 21, 2017.
Insights
- 1/20/2021In a January 14, 2021 ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (“Fifth Circuit”) vacated a $4.3 million Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) fine against the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (“M.D. Anderson”), finding the penalty "arbitrary, capricious and contrary to law."
- 6/5/2020
- 4/14/2020As widespread shortages of face masks and N95 respirators needed to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic persist, manufacturers, brokers, and other companies across the nation are looking to retool their operations for the production and sale of these crucial items.
- 4/13/2020With tens of millions of Americans suddenly working from home data privacy issues have taken on new urgency.
- 3/27/2020The wide-reaching CARES Act provides significant additional support to the health care industry inundated by the COVID-19 pandemic, primarily in the forms of new funding and regulatory relief.
- 3/25/2020The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a declaratory ruling which permits certain health care entities and government officials to communicate information about COVID-19, including any mitigation measures, without first obtaining prior express consent.
- 3/25/2020The Texas Medical Board has released emergency rules to effectuate Governor Abbott’s Executive Order to expand hospital bed capacity.
- 3/19/2020In response to the evolving COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government and states have reviewed requirements affecting the ability of health care providers to use and receive reimbursement for the provision of services via telemedicine.
- 3/19/2020The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) expands coverage for and reimbursement of coronavirus testing and related services by state and federal health care programs, private insurers, and self-insured group health plans.
- 3/12/2020As COVID-19 spreads throughout the United States, health care providers are on the front lines of this growing crisis, and regulators at both the state and federal levels are releasing new and updated guidance to help them respond to this rapidly-changing industry environment.
- 3/10/2020On January 10, 2020, the Department of Justice announced that a Kentucky woman admitted in federal court that she solicited kickbacks from a toxicology laboratory in exchange for urine drug testing referrals, lied to law enforcement agents about the kickback she received, and then attempted to cover up the kickback by requesting the alteration of certain financial records.
- 6/20/2019Texas House Bill 4390 tightens the notification requirements related to a breach of sensitive personal information, requires notification to the Texas Attorney General in certain breaches, and creates an advisory council related to privacy issues.
- 4/22/2019On April 9, 2019, federal jurors in the Northern District of Texas returned a guilty verdict against seven doctors, surgeons, and health care executives accused of participating in a $200 million bribery and kickback scheme at Forest Park Medical Center (FPMC), a physician-owned hospital in Dallas.
- 3/27/2019On March 26, 2019, the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions held a hearing to evaluate a rule proposed by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology ) to implement certain provisions of the 21st Century Cures Act (related to health information technology.
- 10/19/2017On October 17, 2017, the European Union (EU) Working Party on The Protection of Individuals with Regard to the Processing of Personal Data (also referred to as the Article 29 Data Protection Working Party) released two draft guidance documents.
- 8/15/2017Congressmen Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Tim Murphy (R-PA) recently introduced the Overdose Prevention and Patient Safety Act (the act), a measure that would align the Confidentiality of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Patient Records regulations (42 C.F.R. Part 2) with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended (HIPAA).
- 5/25/2017On May 24, 2017, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) released their analysis of the American Health Care Act (AHCA).
- 5/1/2017Jonathan Ishee and Nita Garg, health care attorneys in the Vorys Houston office, co-authored an article for the Houston Business Journal’swebsite titled “Texas Senate Passes Bill Easing Restrictions on Telemedicine.”
- 4/14/2017On April 13, 2017, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) finalized a regulation intended to stabilize the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces by creating policies beneficial to the insurance industry.
- 3/15/2017On March 6, 2017, House Republicans released the American Health Care Act (AHCA), their plan to repeal and replace the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA).
- 3/7/2017On March 6, 2017, House Republicans released their proposed legislation (the proposal) to repeal and replace the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA).