The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (hipaa) of 1996

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996

The HIPAA and its Purpose

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 is generally divided into two parts in order to reflect the two major purposes thereof, namely: (1) to protect health insurance coverage for workers and their families when they change or lose their jobs; (2) the establishment of national standards for electronic health care transactions and national identifiers for providers, health insurance plans and employers (Beaver & Herold, 2004; Sullivan, 2004). In general, the provisions of title 2 thereof attempt to address the security and privacy of data pertaining to health. Also, it provides standards that aim to address the effectiveness of the health care system of the nation (Beaver & Herold, 2004).

Enactment of the HIPAA

The HIPAA of 1996 was enacted in the federal government, most notably the Congress of the United States of America. It was thereafter signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996 (Beaver & Herold, 2004).

Key Facts about the HIPAA

As previously mentioned, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 is divided into two titles which cover the main purposes thereof. Such titles were divided in order to reflect the main purposes of the law, namely: (1) to protect health insurance coverage for workers and their families when they change or lose their jobs; (2) the establishment of national standards for electronic health care transactions and national standards for electronic health care transactions and national identifiers for providers, health insurance plans and employers (Beaver & Herold, 2004). Furthermore, the HIPAA also seeks to address issues pertaining to security and privacy of data involved in the health care system (Beaver &