by Deanna Brownlee

Created on: June 05, 2009

Today's economy is in critical condition. Almost anyone you ask will agree. Businesses are downsizing, while job seekers are coming up empty-handed. Those that are unemployed lack so much more than a salary. To lose a job is also to lose health insurance. What, then, can you do if you get sick on a tight budget and you have no insurance?

In 1996, the United States Congress addressed this dilemma via the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA. The HIPAA consists of two parts, Title I and Title II. Title I provides insurance to those who lose or change jobs. Title II, deemed the Administrative Simplification (AS) provisions, monitors the use of patient information for the sake of privacy. Title II also promotes the use of an "electronic data interchange," or an information sharing system.

More specifically, Title I provides several services. First, it seeks to provide insurance to those who have been affected by downsizing or a career change. Second, according to Wikipedia.com, "it amended the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code." The Employee Retirement Income Security Act maintains pension plan and federal income tax activity, while the Public Health Service Act provides certain health services to those in need. The Internal Revenue Code is not an act, but rather it governs the payment of US taxes.

Title II, the AS provisions, establishes how certain organizations can use your health information as well as how you can access it. Further, it addresses health care laws and what can happen to those who abuse the health care system. Finally, Title II aims to streamline the health care system via five rules, according to Wikipedia.com: the Privacy Rule, the Transactions and Code Sets Rule, the Security Rule, the Unique Identifiers Rule, and the Enforcement Rule.

In April of 2003, the HIPAA enforced the Privacy Rule. As its name suggests, the Privacy Rule governs the use of Public Health Information, or an establishment's health care data as it pertains to individuals. The Privacy Rule also emphasizes that establishments should disclose as little information as possible for the sake of treatment, payments and other such care. The rule also advocates accuracy and confidentiality, and allows for disclosure during cases of child abuse. Further still, establishments must stay informed and current on the laws that govern Publish Health Information. They must employ a Privacy

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