Who Does the HIPAA Privacy Rule Cover?

HIPAA is an acronym for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which was passed in 1996 to protect the rights of health care consumers. HIPAA covers a variety of health care practitioners and organizations.

Health Plans

• An individual or group plan that provides or pays the cost of medical care involving the diagnosis, treatment or prevention of disease is prohibited from sharing information regarding the state of their client's health. This includes both private insurance companies and public programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid.

Health Care Clearing Houses

• Individuals or groups that process personal health data or transactions are required to keep patient health information confidential. This includes billing services, repricing companies or community health information systems.

Health Care Providers

• A health care provider is loosely defined as any person or organization that furnishes, bills or is paid for providing health care during the normal course of business. This includes dentists and chiropractors, as well as hospitals, nurses, lab techs, administrators and medical doctors.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine Providers

• Massage therapists, acupuncturists, aromatherapists, energy healers or other alternative medicine providers need to use the online tool provided by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to determine whether they are covered entities.