HIPAA Law

HIPAA Law

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, best known as HIPAA, was enacted by the Clinton Administration back in 1996. It serves to protect health insurance of citizens in case of shifting or losing out to their jobs. It also provides for national health insurance standards within the country and regulates health insurance policies and electronic health care transactions.

HIPAA law protects the individuals and their families by limiting exclusions of pre-existing medical conditions from health insurances. It provides rights to allow individuals to take up new health insurance plans in cases of additions to the family, new dependants and in case of losing previous health coverage. 

It prohibits discrimination within employees and promotes granting similar health policies with regard to enrolment into the insurance plans and premiums charged. The HIPAA law is set to preserve the government’s role in the regulation of health insurance, and allowing states to offer better insurance policies than those offered by the federal government.

In April 2003, the HIPAA Privacy Rule came into existence. Its purpose was to disclose withheld protected health information about individuals that took health insurance plans by entities giving out health insurance policies. This included employers that offered health plans, insurance companies and medical service providers. Protected health information refers to any information regarding individuals’ medical records, the treatment undertaken and financial payment history. 

The purpose served by the HIPAA Privacy Rule by fully disclosing the protected health information within 30 days of the request by law was to report child abuse cases. It was further required by the government and law enforcing authorities to identify and locate suspects of crime, fugitives within the country, missing persons as well as material witness for cases heard.

Disclosure of protected health information would also help in individuals’ treatment, sponsored payments and getting full medical attention and surgical practices without the individuals’ consent, upon requirement. It also helps to correct the protect health information by coverage entities. The HIPAA privacy rule is a civil right and complaints can be made in accordance to this when information is withheld which is requested to be disclosed rightfully under the rule.

Although the HIPAA privacy rule is in effect for over a decade, it is still criticised largely, due to the unfortunate events it has produced. The rule is said to be quite lenient albeit it’s sensitive nature. There have been 34,000 reported breaches of privacy within this time period resulting in launching federal investigations in many of these reports, and applied with corrective measures. This vulnerability is caused by the shift of protected health information to electronic data records.

Many critics ask for amends to the rule that allow the individuals to have the discretion to decide to whom the records are to be disclosed and to whom not. This view has been seen as a difficult one to enforce by many. Despite huge criticisms of privacy breaches, the Times reported that many federal officials still believe that the rule strikes a balance between education and enforcement.

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