HIPPA: How Does It Affect Your Health Insurance Plan?
California Group Health Insurance

HIPPA or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act changes how many small businesses process their group health insurance claims. If you have California group health insurance you are affected by this important legislation. If you are an employer with more than 50 employees and are covered with a California health plan, there are important facts you need to know. This law was introduced to protect an employee’s health information. This act will change how you will handle health insurance claims both now and in the future. You are required by law to follow HIPPA rules if your company has 50 or more employees.

There are fines associated with violating this new law by any California group health insurance. Tthe HIPPA act is to protect an employee’s health information. California’s health plan providers may only access that information for medical treatment, billing, and payment for medical services. Any other reason an employee’s health records are accessed is illegal. Fines can start at $100 and go as high as $250,000 and ten years in prison for the person who illegally accessed health records.

For a small business with fewer than 50 employees you are not bound by HIPPA rules although it is a good idea to treat your employees information with respect and follow HIPPA rules. You may one day be over the 50-employee mark and will already have confidence in the way you handle an employee’s health information.

For some companies, the HIPPA law may require more discretion from the person who handles health benefit claims. One small slip about the status of one employee’s health problem could lead to information leaking out to the rest of the workforce. This could cause your company to pay a heavy fine.

Education is the key to prevent your company from violating the HIPPA law. The law will be enforced for all California group health insurance providers and better security will be needed to keep these records private. Enforcing this new law is important as it guards the basic right for an employee to have privacy when it concerns health issues.

Precautions will need to be taken for those companies who store their employee’s health records in a computer with an intranet connection or an Internet connection. Hackers are always looking for ways to break into company records and use information they find for illegal purposes.

Respect your employee’s right to privacy concerning their California group health insurance. You would want the same respect for your health records.