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Pacifist Patriot

(24,653 posts)
7. HIPAA is widely misunderstood.
Thu Sep 2, 2021, 08:14 AM
Sep 2021

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is a federal law that required the creation of national standards to protect sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without the patient's consent or knowledge.

https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-individuals/guidance-materials-for-consumers/index.html

Who Must Follow These Laws

We call the entities that must follow the HIPAA regulations "covered entities."

Covered 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.
Most Health Care Providers—those that conduct certain business electronically, such as electronically billing your health insurance—including most doctors, clinics, hospitals, psychologists, chiropractors, nursing homes, pharmacies, and dentists.
Health Care Clearinghouses—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.

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