Definition: HIPAA stands for the "Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act". Enacted in 1996 and originally sponsored by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Sen. Nancy Kassebaum (R-Kan.), HIPAA's key function is to provide citizens of the United States of America with a policy that, under Title 1 of the act, regulates group and certain individual health insurance plans, limits restrictions for preexisting conditions for group health care plans.
Title 2 of the act focuses on regulating health care, by enforcing civil and criminal penalties related to preventing health care fraud and abuse, Administrative Simplification rules, and protecting privacy by regulating the use and dissemination of health care information. In Title 2, covered entity was established to clearly define who is required by law to comply with HIPAA. According to the Government's website, these entities include:
- Health Plans, including health insurance companies, HMOs, company health plans, and certain government programs that pay for health care, such as Medicare and Medicaid.
- A Health Care Providers, including doctors, clinics, psychologists, dentists, chiropractors, nursing Homes, pharmacies, if they transmit any information in an electronic form in connection with a transaction for which HHS has adopted a standard
- A healthcare clearing house, which includes entities that process nonstandard health information they receive from another entity into a standard (i.e., standard electronic format or data content), or vice versa.
- Life insurers
- employers
- workers compensation carriers
- schools and school districts
- state agencies
- law enforcement agencies
- municipal offices
