What is HIPAA?
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on August 21, 1996. HIPAA’s main goal was to ensure the portability of health insurance benefits particularly as individuals moved from job to job. However, within this law a subtitle was created entitled the Administrative Simplification Act, with three additional goals: Simplify the administration and processing of health data by implementing industry-wide standards for transmitting certain health and related financial information; Create standards to ensure the privacy and security of health information that is transmitted or stored electronically; and Reduce the costs and administrative overhead of processing health and related financial information. Goal number two above deals with the security rule. For additional information on HIPAA Privacy, please refere back to the Home Page.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), passed in 1996, is intended to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the health care system in the United States. HIPAA has many parts. One section associated with “Administrative Simplification” has four main parts. The first part includes national standards for transactions of electronic patient health, administrative and financial data between health care providers and health plans. The second part, known as the “Privacy Rule”, concerns the privacy of an individual’s health information. The third part, known as the “Security Rule”, addresses security standards for safeguarding health information maintained in electronic form. The fourth part sets up a system of national identifiers for employers, health plans and providers. The Privacy Rule which takes effect on 4/14/2003 and the Security rule which takes effect 4/20/2005 both affect research that uses health information that can be linked to the individu
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-191), also known as HIPAA, was enacted as a Congressional attempt to reform healthcare. The purpose of the Act is to: • Improve portability and continuity of health insurance coverage in the group and individual markets; • To combat waste, fraud, and abuse in health insurance and health care delivery; • To promote the use of medical savings accounts; • To improve access to long-term care services and coverage; • To simplify the administration of health insurance; and • Other purposes. Title I of the HIPAA law deals with health care access, portability, and renewability with the intention of protecting health insurance coverage for workers and their families when they change or lose their jobs. Title II of the law, also known as “Administrative Simplification”, deals with preventing health care fraud and abuse. The “Administrative Simplification” aspect of that law requires the United States Department of He
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was passed to protect the confidential medical and billing records of our patients. A particularly important element of HIPAA regulation pertains to patients’ rights related to access and control of their medical information. We count on all members of the UCSF entity to incorporate the HIPAA rules into your daily activities. Our patients have a right to privacy. We are committed to complying with HIPAA, not only because it is the law, but also because we value our patients and their privacy. For details refer to the HIPAA Handbook.
