MamasHealth.com Home Insurance Information Child Care Insurance COBRA Dealing with an HMO Dr. Dealing with your HMO Dental Insurance Disability Insurance EPO Insurance Family & Medical Leave Health Insurance Help with Denied claims HIPPA HMO Plans HMO Terms Explained Hospital Indemnity How Much Insurance HRA Insurance Terms Life insurance for kids Life insurance from your job Long Term Care Medicaid Medicare Medigap MSA POS Plans PPO Plans Save money on insurance Term vs. Whole Universal Life Workers' Comp Links Email Mama Financial help during medical crisis Adoption insurance Car Insurance Save on Car Insurance Financial Assistance for women's healthcare 2005 Insurance Coverage 2006 Insurance Coverage Sign up for the MamasHealth Newsletter	HIPAA HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. It was enacted in 1996. HIPAA helps to enable individuals who have pre-existing health conditions to purchase--or keep--health insurance. HIPAA provides protection for individuals who risk losing their health insurance due to a change of employment, divorce, death, pregnancy or other reason. Right to Privacy As a result of HIPAA, laws were enacted that would secure the privacy of an individual’s personal health information. Many organizations are affected by HIPAA and they must meet the requirements and fall within the standards of compliance. If a business deals in any form of health care information, they must meet the standards of HIPAA. This means that insurance companies, clinics, doctors, hospitals and even research groups must be very careful about how they record transactions. A Few Provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act An individual has the right to access his or her records and to make a request for a change in the records if the information listed is incorrect. Under law, all individuals must be told how their personal information will be used. Unless the individual gives personal permission, his or her information will never be used for marketing purposes. Individuals can request how he or she wants to communicate with anyone who maintains his or her personal health information. This could be via work telephone, home telephone, mail or cell phone, or other means of communication. Individuals have the right to file a complaint to The Department of Health and Human Services if he or she feels a healthcare provider or other business is not acting in compliance with HIPAA. Entities which fall under HIPAA have the right to use your personal information without your consent for treatment purposes and as a means of obtaining payments. Entities much have documentation which shows their privacy procedures. Entities must have an employee who is trained in HIPAA. HIPAA Courses There are many courses available to educate health entities on how they can stay within HIPAA compliance as related to physical, technical and administrative policies. There are also courses available which can certify professionals who wish to become Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act administrators.	Featured Book
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