Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) passed by Congress in 1996 does the following:
Provides the ability to transfer and continue health insurance coverage for millions of American workers and their families when they change or lose their jobs
Reduces health care fraud and abuse
Mandates industry-wide standards for health care information on electronic billing and other processes
Requires the protection and confidential handling of protected health information
The Office for Civil Rights enforces the HIPAA Privacy Rule, which protects the privacy of individually identifiable health information; the HIPAA Security Rule, which sets national standards for the security of electronic protected health information; the HIPAA Breach Notification Rule, which requires covered entities and business associates to provide notification following a breach of unsecured protected health information; and the confidentiality provisions of the Patient Safety Rule, which protect identifiable information being used to analyze patient safety events and improve patient safety.
For more information, you can review details at:
