The Health Insurance Portability And accountability Act

The Health Insurance Portability and accountability Act or HIPAA, which made into Law in 1996 was purposely created by the government to protect insured clients of insurance companies from being victims of identity theft, more specifically against unauthorized use of a person’s personal health information.

The government is well aware of the importance to a person of his or her health records and other very personal records like his Social Security number, date of birth and other related information. This information can be improperly utilized by unscrupulous person for their own advantage. The HIPAA has made known the fact that utilizing this information for whatever purpose without the express consent of the insured party is against the Law and will be subject to penalties if proven as such.

This Law came into being as the government noted with alarming concern the increasing number of incidents whereby health records of insured clients of insurance companies were improperly utilized by other persons besides the owner. One reason for this obtaining situation before the implementation of this Law was the ever increasing improvement of the communication and data storage facilities whereby at the click of a button, a person can have instant access to the personal and health information records of
insured clients of an insurance company. The ease by which they can easily retrieve this information resulted to the improper use of such information to the disadvantage of the owners.

HIPAA, likewise, has deemed it illegal for any insurance companies to have plans that are discriminating in nature and tend to deny coverage or charge a higher rate for persons found not to be in the best of health. These Laws were designed not only to protect unauthorized use of insured client’s information but also to stop the unfair practice of some insurance companies towards their clients.

There are of course leeways that HIPAA has enacted for insurance companies that handling of client’s information would be deemed legal even without the client’s authorization so long as this information are used in the course of health related matters pertaining their client, such as billings, health updates and other matters. Any use of an insured client’s medical information and other records other than the normal insurance related transactions will need a written authorization from the insured client. Otherwise, it can be construed as an illegal use of information.

It is in appreciation of this Law that many Insurance companies have now corrected their
unfair system of denying coverage to some insurance applicants who would wish to avail of health insurance coverage. Aside from this, Insurance companies have now put up the needed safeguards to strictly implement and to fully secure their individual data base containing their client’s records and personal information. If you would like to know more information about HIPAA, you can browse the internet and look for the site of your
City Health Office. Or you can also direct your search for HIPAA for a more thorough discussion of this Insurance Law.