Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

Overview

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), is a federal law enacted on 21 August 1996 that sets national standards for the protection of health information. It ensures that individuals’ medical records and other personal health information are properly protected while allowing the flow of health information needed to provide high-quality healthcare. The law applies to healthcare providers, health plans, and healthcare clearinghouses that conduct transactions electronically, as well as to their business associates. Enacted in 1996, it aims to protect sensitive patient information, ensure health insurance portability, and improve the efficiency of health care delivery. It establishes national standards for electronic health care transactions and ensures data privacy and security provisions for safeguarding medical information. The act also addresses preexisting condition exclusions, promoting coverage availability and renewal across group health plans and health insurance issuers.

HIPAA includes several important rules:

• the HIPAA Privacy Rule, which establishes standards for protecting PHI;
• the HIPAA Security Rule, which sets standards for securing electronic PHI (ePHI); and
• the HIPAA Breach Notification Rule, which requires covered entities to notify affected individuals and HHS in the case of data breaches involving unsecured PHI.