HIPAA is a US law passed in 1996 to protect people with health insurance by providing greater coverage and privacy protection for medical records. It limits coverage for pre-existing conditions to a maximum of 12-18 months and ensures patient privacy through strict security measures.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, was a piece of legislation passed by the United States government in 1996. It served two main functions: to provide greater coverage and protection to people with health insurance through their employers and create greater privacy protection for medical records. As such, it is widely regarded as a piece of consumer protection legislation designed to preclude problems with health insurance and access to medical records.
For most consumers, the most obvious benefit of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act has been the amendment to the Employee Retirement Income and Securities Act (ERISA). The amendment addressed pre-existing conditions, which are medical illnesses, diseases or conditions that a person already has when applying for insurance. Previously, some employers and/or insurance companies restricted people from being covered for these pre-existing conditions for an extended period, or even indefinitely. For example, a person with diabetes who wanted to enroll in the Employee Health Plan for a new job might not get coverage from the plan for her diabetes because she had diabetes before enrolling in the plan.
Under new rules set out in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, coverage for your pre-existing condition can only be limited for a 12-month period. If the person already had insurance coverage before enrolling in the new health plan through an existing insurance policy that he either purchased himself or had through his previous employer, this pre-existing coverage limitation is further reduced depending on the length of coverage . Even for people with no prior coverage who do not enroll in their employer’s plan before the regular deadline has passed (i.e. late enrollees) the maximum amount of time a company can exclude pre-existing conditions under the amendment to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act is 18 months.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act has also ensured greater patient privacy. Only the patient can have access to their medical records according to the rules, and insurance companies, medical offices and others who keep medical records are required to take strict measures to protect the information from unauthorized access. This includes appointing a person responsible for security, restricting access to medical records, and promptly reporting any security breaches. Specific provisions have also been envisaged for the electronic storage of medical records, providing for the adoption of IT security measures and access to the computers on which the medical records are stored only to authorized personnel.
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