Christopher Scott Sears

Undergraduate School
Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History, Indiana University
Graduated in 1990

Law School
Indiana University School of Law-Bloomington
Graduated in 1994

Professional Experience:
Chris Sears concentrates his practice in the field of health care and employee benefits. Sears assists clients in designing and maintaining health and retirement plans and other employee benefits. He also works with clients in their efforts to protect the privacy of health information pursuant to HIPAA and to share information through regional health information networks.

He works with public and private employees including hospitals and other tax-exempt organizations. Sears helps clients design employer-sponsored health plans and other benefits such as cafeteria plans, tuition reimbursement plans, long and short term disability plans, health reimbursement accounts, health savings accounts, and life insurance plans. He also helps them comply with myriad of laws that regulate these plans such as ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code, HIPAA, ADA, FMLA and COBRA.

Sears also concentrates on laws regulating the privacy of health information. In particular, he works closely with both health plans and health care providers in their efforts to comply with the complex privacy rules of HIPAA, as well as state privacy laws. He works closely with the nationally-known regional health information sharing network, the Indianapolis Network for Patient Care, and other cross-institutional health data sharing networks. He has served as a technical advisor to the Steering Committee for the National Project of Best Practices for State-Level Regional Health Information Organizations, conducted by the AHIMA Foundation. In addition, he chaired the legal task force of Indiana's Health Information Security Privacy Collaboration, funded by the National Governors Association. Most recently, Sears served on the Data Use and Reciprocal Support Agreement Team for the National Health Information Network since 2007.

He also consults with clients to adopt, maintain and terminate their employee pension and retirement plans in compliance with the Internal Revenue Code and ERISA. In doing so, he assists clients with their 401(k) plans, tax-sheltered annuities, non-qualified deferred compensation arrangements and other qualified and non-qualified plans.

He is admitted to practice law in the state of Indiana.

Professional Associations:
Member, Joint Committee on Employee Benefits, American Bar Association
Member, American Bar Association
Member, Health Law Section, American Bar Association
Member, American Health Lawyers Association

Awards and Recognitions:
The Best Lawyers in America, Employee Benefits Law, 2009 and 2010
Outstanding Young Healthcare Lawyer, Nightingale, 2007

Published In:
"Is There a Doctor In the House?" Indianapolis Business Journal, Feb. 4, 2008
"The Indiana Network for Patient Care: A Case Study of a Successful Healthcare Data Sharing Agreement," American Bar Association Health Law Section eSource, September 2005
"HIPAA is Here: Has Your County Started Yet?" Indiana News 92, March/April 2003
"USERRA - Protecting Employees' Rights," The Wyoming Banker, January 2002
"USERRA - Protecting Employees' Rights," Hoosier Banker, November 2002

Speaking Engagements:
"Implementing the New Health Reform Law: What Governmental Employees Need to Know," 104th Government Finance Officers Association Annual Conference, June 8, 2010, "Health Care Reform: Impact on Employers and Benefits Plans," Indiana Chamber of Commerce, May 19, 2010,"What Will The Administration Do Through Regulation Now That Health Care Reform Has Passed," American Bar Association Joint Committee on Employee Benefits, 2010 Government Invitational Conference, April 8, 2010,
"Administering the Family and Medical Leave Act Under the New Regulations," Continuation of Health Insurance and Other Benefits, March 5, 2010
"Emerging Issues in Healthcare Law," American Bar Association Health Law Section's Conference, Feb. 18, 2010
"Health Care Reform: Status of the Debate," Indiana Chamber of Commerce, Jan. 21, 2010
Health Care Reform, Mechanical Contractors Association of American National Collective Bargaining Conference, Oct. 30, 2009
"Legal Issues for Wellness Programs," Central Association of College and University Business Officers Conference, Oct. 5, 2009
"The HITECH Act," Indiana Chamber of Commerce Webinar, Aug. 19, 2009
"Retirement Incentives and Related Issues," Indiana Association of Cities and Towns MMI Conference, May 21, 2009
"Breast Cancer Legal Advocacy Workshop,"American Bar Association Health Law Section Council Annual Meeting, April 23, 2009
"Using Deferred Compensation to Incent On-Call Coverage," American Bar Association Health Law Section Emerging Issues in Healthcare Law Conference, Feb. 18-20, 2009
"Breast Cancer Legal Advocacy Workshop," American Bar Association Health Law Section Emerging Issues in Healthcare Law Conference, Feb. 18-20, 2009
"Welfare Plan Hot Topics," Central Indiana Certified Employee Benefits Specialists Conference, Oct. 29, 2008
"Breast Cancer Legal Advocacy Workshop" and "What Employers Need to Know About Implementing Employee Wellness Plans" and "New EEOC Regulations on Age Discrimination in Retiree Health Care," Health Law Section Emerging Issues in Healthcare Law Conference, Feb. 20-22, 2008
"What Employers Need to Know About Implementing Employee Wellness Plans," Health Law Section Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Interest Group Webinar, Jan. 15, 2008
"The Pension Protection Act and Defined Contribution Plans -- What You Need To Do Now," Health Law Section Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Interest Group Webinar, April 26, 2007
"The Pension Protection Act and Defined Contribution Plans -- What You Need To Do Now (in 25 Minutes or Less)," Health Law Section Emerging Issues in Healthcare Law Conference, Feb. 21-23, 2007
Moderator, "How Do Complex and Detailed Regulations Impact Benefits?" American Bar Association Joint Committee on Employee Benefits and American Law Institute on Certified Public Accounts, 2006 Government Invitational Conference, March 29-31, 2006
"Medicare Part D: Where We Are So Far," American Bar Association Health Law Section Emerging Issues in Healthcare Law Conference, Feb. 22-24, 2006
Moderator, "How Do Complex and Detailed Regulations Impact Benefits?" American Bar Association Joint Committee on Employee Benefits and American Law Institute on Certified Public Accounts, 2006 Government Invitational Conference, March 29-31, 2006
"Indiana: At the HIE Crossroads of America," Regenstrief Institute, Foundation for eHealth Initiative and the Indiana Health Information Exchange, Nov. 16-17, 2005
"Human Resource Association of Central Indiana Legislative Update," Feb. 17, 2005
"The Perfect Storm of Legal Issues From the Interoperable Electronic Health Record," American Health Lawyers Association National Teleconference, Dec. 16, 2004
"HIPAA Privacy Update and Security Rule for Employers and Health Plans," Indiana Benefits Conference, Sept. 14, 2004
"Defined Contribution Alphabet Soup - HSAs, HRAs, FSAs & MSAs" and "Welfare Plan Roundtable," Church Plan Workshop, April 19-21, 2004
"HIPAA Privacy: The Final Days Before Compliance," American Bar Association Joint Committee on Employee Benefits National Teleconference/Live Audio Webcast, March 2, 2004
"Welfare Plan Hot Topics: HIPAA, Domestic Partners, Subrogation and COBRA Notices" Employee Benefits Seminar, Indiana Chamber of Commerce, Jan. 29, 2004
"What's New With COBRA?" American Bar Association Joint Committee on Employee Benefits National Teleconference/Live Audio Webcast, October 16, 2003
"HIPAA - Where are We Now?" 48th Annual Employee Benefits Conference, International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, Sept. 21-22, 2002
"Overview of ERISA and General Compliance for Health Plans for Employers," Indiana Health Care Conference, Indiana Chamber of Commerce, Sept. 17, 2002
"The Ice Miller HIPAA Series Phase II: Paving the Way for Privacy Officers," Aug. 28, 2002
"Bradford-Scott/Ice Miller HIPAA Seminar," Oct. 18, 2002 and Aug. 21, 2002
"The Ice Miller HIPAA Series Phase I: Compliance Roadmap," Ice Miller, June 28, 2002
"HIPAA and Medical Record Privacy: Are You Ready for the New Rules?" Medical Educational Service, Inc., Feb. 15, 2002

Community Involvement:
Chair, Board of Directors, Indiana Perinatal Network, Inc.

Reported and Representative Cases:
Spangler, Jennings & Dougherty v. Indiana Insurance, 729 N.E.2d 117 (Ind. 2000)
Wine-Settergren v. Lamey, 716 N.E.2d 381 (Ind. 1999)

Bar Committees:
Vice Chair, Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Interest Group, Health Law Section, American Bar Association

Services:

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