Health

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is a Federal law that provides far-reaching health insurance reforms and medical privacy protections for all Americans. Title I of HIPAA offers important, though limited, Federal protections that improve the availability and continuity of health coverage for workers and their families. Under certain conditions, this law guarantees the availability of new health coverage with no exclusions for pre-existing conditions for individuals who lose employment-based health coverage due to changes in employment or family status. The Departments of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services are jointly responsible for Federal rules concerning health insurance portability and accessibility requirements. However, since HIPAA gives enforcement authority to the individual states and allows states to impose more generous protections than those under HIPAA, a key source of information for individuals is your State Insurance Commissioner.