Is the Medical Information Bureau (MIB) a covered entity?
No. The MIB is a membership organization made up of insurance companies. Because the MIB is neither a health care provider, health care plan, nor health care clearinghouse, it is not a covered entity. Most of MIB’s members underwrite life and disability insurance, functions that are not covered by HIPAA. MIB’s activities fall under another federal law, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) because the company gathers information and issues reports about individuals to insurance companies. Two other companies that fall under the FCRA are Milliman, owner of the IntelliScript database, and Ingenix, Inc. owner of the MedPoint database. The IntelliScript and MedPoint databases gather information about a consumer’s prescription drug history and issue reports to insurance companies. For more on MIB, see www.mib.com and Privacy Rights Clearinghouse Fact Sheet 8, How Private Is My Medical Information?www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs8-med.htm. For more on MedPoint, see www.ingenix.com/ContactUs/. For
Related Questions
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- May a covered entity use or disclose a patients entire medical record based on the patients signed authorization?
- Is the Medical Information Bureau (MIB) a covered entity?
