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The Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act Essay

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The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, most commonly known as HIPAA, was passed by Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton on August 21, 1996. The purpose of this act was to regulate the privacy of patient health information, lower the cost of health care, as well as to help fix the many pieces of our complicated healthcare system. When switching employers or possibly losing employment, HIPAA secures individuals their health insurance. HIPAA nearly affects all individuals within the healthcare field including but not limited to patients, providers, insurance companies and third parties. There are many parts to the HIPAA act to explain, however for the purposes of this paper, the primary focus will be on the main purpose of HIPAA. HIPAAS’s two most important titles, a brief summary of the remaining three titles, along with an overview of how HIPAA works with today’s newer technology in the medical field. The main two purposes of HIPAA includes providing continuous insurance coverage for individuals who change jobs as well as reducing the costs and administrative burdens of receiving health care (What is HIPAA?, 2016). HIPAA protects the privacy of a patient’s personal along with the patient’s health information. HIPPA also provides electronic and physical security of personal and health information, simplifies medical billing, and provides a process for individuals to make a documented complaint. Although one of its main purposes is to reduce costs

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