Hitesman & Wold understands the intricacies of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which was signed into federal law in 1996 in order to protect health insurance coverage for health plan participants and their beneficiaries when changing or losing their jobs.
Healthcare providers, employers and third party administrators are impacted by HIPAA, which has changed the way healthcare organizations deliver services and exchange health care data.
Basically, HIPAA affects the administration and security of patient records. Hitesman & Wold regularly counsels clients regarding HIPAA Administrative Simplification, which was designed to reduce the administrative burden associated with electronic transfer of health information between organizations. In addition to administrative simplification, Hitesman & Wold also advises clients regarding HIPAA security, privacy, policies and procedures, privacy notices, and business associate agreements.
HIPAA applies to most group health plans and failure to comply can be very costly. In helping clients comply under the rules of HIPAA, Hitesman & Wold addresses the following issues:
- Coordination with applicable state law
- Consequences of failing to comply with HIPAA
- Limitations on pre-existing condition exclusions
- Special enrollment rights
- Nondiscrimination rules
- HIPAA’s insurance market rules
- HIPAA’s administrative simplification requirements
- Privacy standards and core privacy requirements
- Security requirements
- EDI standards
