The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) came into existence in the year 1996. The prime purpose of the Act was to ensure that a person continues to have a health insurance cover when changing jobs or even losing a job for that matter. Also it aimed to simplify the various administrative procedures related to health insurance. With passage of time and in keeping up with the changing scenario HIPAA too has evolved to bring various new provisions under its umbrella by amending the Act suitably.

The following points will give you an overview of HIPAA, its functions and what it can do for you.

– Contents of the Act: HIPAA is comprised of two major parts. The first one called Title I works towards ensuring a constant health insurance coverage for you by regulating and managing the many components of group and individual plans. Besides setting provisions for migrating between them and matters of renewal, it even looks at factors such as pre-existing conditions, exclusion time when you enroll in a new plan and even taking into due consideration your earlier plans. The most important terms of the second part called as Title II are the rules of Administrative Simplification. These rules spell out the various provisions at your disposal for protecting your privacy whether the information is present on paper or in an electronic form through an elaborate set of Privacy and Security Rules. It also regulates the covered entities that includes health insurers, certain health plans and health care clearing houses with respect to maintaining your privacy and has even stipulated the use of National Provider Identifier numbers for improved management. Furthermore it strives to protect your interests through the Enforcement rules which lay down guidelines for carrying out investigations and also states the penalties for infringing on HIPAA.

– What HIPAA can Mean for You: The provisions of this Act try to maintain a continual insurance coverage for you in addition to proper access for long term care. It even eliminates any possible gaps caused due to changing jobs and securing a fresh insurance cover. Also by taking into consideration your earlier plans it can significantly reduce the exclusion times when you enroll in a new policy. Furthermore it ensures that you do not lose out on any benefits with respect to pre-existing conditions by prescribing certain restrictions on selected plans. The Act also includes provisions for changes that might take place in your personal marital status or even to your family.

– Privacy: HIPAA lays down a fair amount of stress to safeguard your privacy. It has several provisions in place to ensure that your private information is not subjected to any unauthorized access and disclosure by allowing you greater control over use of such information. On the other hand, to prevent such laws from impeding necessary functioning it also mentions particular conditions or entities to whom such information can be passed.

Thus you can see how HIPAA aims to provide you with better tools to decide about your health insurance while maintaining your privacy and even providing for violators to be brought to the book.

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Category: Wellness, Fitness and Diet
Keywords: Privacy and Security Rules,Health Insurance ,HIPAA,privacy rules