Explaining HIPAA

When dealing with switching jobs and health care insurance, many people hear the word, or more accurately the acronym, “HIPAA” tossed around but do not truly understand what it means to them, their families, and their right to health care.  HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.  Enacted by the US Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996, this act protects health insurance coverage for workers and their families when they change or lose their jobs and required the establishment of national standards for electronic health care transactions and national identifiers for providers, health insurance plans, and employers.  It also helps to limit the ability of a new employer plan to exclude coverage for preexisting conditions, provides additional opportunities to enroll in a group health plan if you lose your other existing coverage or experience certain life events, prohibits discrimination against employees and their family members considered dependents based on health factors including prior medical conditions, genetic information, and previous claims, and guarantees that certain individuals will have access to and can renew individual health insurance policies.  It works in conjunction with state laws which might offer even more protection.

There are some exclusions to HIPAA’s coverage, however.  While it adds protection and makes it easier to switch jobs without fear of losing health coverage for preexisting conditions, it does not require that employers offer health coverage, does not guarantee that any condition you have now (or have had in the past) will be covered by the new employer’s health plan, and does not prohibit an employer from imposing a preexisting condition exclusion period if you have been treated for a condition within the last six months.