HIPAA Penalties - What You Need To Know About Them

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires that confidential medical information of patients be safeguarded by health care service providers who have access to it. There are various guidelines stipulated for HIPAA adherence and anyone found violating it would have to pay penalties in civil proceedings and may also have to face imprisonment for criminal proceedings. Criminal penalties would attract both fines and imprisonment depending on the nature of the offence.

The HIPAA act was passed to protect the privacy of patients and all "covered entities" stipulated by the act need to train their employees about the various safety guidelines that need to be followed. Any violation of the various rules and regulations of HIPAA would attract a penalty. The penalties can be both civil and criminal.

Top 6 Things That You Need To Know About HIPAA Penalties

1. There are numerous instances where health care providers and insurance companies do not adhere to the various rules and regulations of HIPAA as they do not have adequate knowledge about it. However lack of knowledge will not allow them to escape the minimum penalty of $100 per violation. The maximum penalty that can be imposed on the health care providers who will have access to the confidential information of patients and who have committed any violation will be $25,000 in a year.

2. Civil penalties cannot be imposed on individuals by the Secretary of The Department of Health and Human Services if they had committed the violation unknowingly. The individuals would be asked to correct the violation within a period of thirty days. However if it was done due to negligence that was willful, civil penalties can be imposed.

3. If the violations had not been corrected within 30 days then the penalty can be increased to $50,000 per violation and $1.5 million annually for repeated offences. Individuals can also ask for an extended time period to correct it and if the violation is still not corrected within the extended period penalties can again be imposed.

4. If the violation committed by the individual and health care provider is done knowingly the penalty that will be imposed will be higher. Every violation will attract a fine of $1000 and the maximum penalties that can be imposed in a year are $100,000.

5. If the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act violation is done willingly then there can be criminal proceedings initiated against the health care providers. There can be a fine of $50,000 per violation and this would be in addition to an imprisonment of one year. The penalty and imprisonment period will be increased if the HIPAA act is violated due to false pretences. In such instances the penalty is $100,000 with an imprisonment of five years.

6. The confidential information of patients can be accessed and sold for commercial purposes and if there is such a violation the imprisonment will be ten years with penalty of $250,000.

Depending on the nature of the violation and the extent to which it was committed the fines and imprisonment periods can vary.

HIPAA Certificate Of Creditable Coverage   Benefits Of Health Insurance Quotes Online   HIPAA Safety Rule - 3 Safeguards to Be Followed   Why You Need Medical Insurance   Australians Should Compare Health Insurance Policies for Pre-Existing Condition Coverage   

What Are The HIPAA Regulations For Patients

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) that was passed in 1996 aims to provide quality healthcare coverage plan to all employees and their families and seek to safeguard the protected information of patients against any misuse. There are many safeguards that are provided by HIPAA and this ensures that all information pertaining to the patients is safeguarded.

There are various organizations that are classified as "covered entities" as per Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and they would need to comply with all the provisions of the Act. The covered entities include doctors, nurses, hospitals, clinics, laboratories, pharmacies and health insurance companies. All staff employed in these organizations (covered entities) and who will have access to confidential information of patients will need to be adequately trained about the rules and regulations of HIPAA.

Top 7 HIPAA Regulations For Patients

The medical records of patients are usually accessed by doctors, nurses and other people in the health care industry for treatment or for other purposes. The patients will have the right to deny access to their medical records by anyone other than the doctor. There can also be restrictions imposed by the patient on the sharing of medical records with family and friends. Although patients can restrict the sharing of protected information, doctors might not be able to comply with their request at all times. Physicians would have to share information with nurses and other staff to provide treatment and it would not be possible to restrict the sharing of protected information due to this. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act allows the patients the right to be contacted at an alternate phone number and address, if they do not want their family members and friends to know about their medical condition. The patients can also request the doctor to provide them with their medical records. Although the patient might be able to review all medical records the physician may restrict access to part or complete information if they feel that this can be harmful to the patient. If there are any errors in the protected information of patients, you will be able to make requests for any suitable amendments to it. The changes will need to be made within 90 days from the date of the request. The confidential information of patients cannot be used for commercial purposes and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act prohibits such usage. Medical records of patients cannot be provided to employers by health insurance companies without the permission of the employee.

All these Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act regulations will ensure that the protected information of patients is safeguarded and any sort of misuse is prevented. If the patient becomes aware of any violation of HIPAA they can report it to the covered entities so that suitable remedial action can be taken.

Any violation that is reported needs to be corrected within a time period of 30 days and this can be extended for a further period too. If the violation is not corrected it can lead to penalties depending on the extent of the violation.

HIPAA Certificate Of Creditable Coverage   Benefits Of Health Insurance Quotes Online   HIPAA Safety Rule - 3 Safeguards to Be Followed   Why You Need Medical Insurance   Australians Should Compare Health Insurance Policies for Pre-Existing Condition Coverage