The
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
Act (HIPAA) was enacted by Congress in
1996, and later became effective in 2001. The
HIPAA
laws were designed by Congress to protect a
person's private health information due to
advances in electronic technology. HIPAA sets
national standards for the protection of personal
health information, as applied to three types
of covered entities: health plans, health care
clearinghouses, and health care providers who
conduct certain health care transactions electronically.
Since the enactment of the law, you may have noticed
that your doctor is unwilling to share even basic
medical information with you regarding your family.
In response to HIPAA, Wright Abshire prepares
HIPAA Waivers for all of our estate planning clients.
A HIPAA Waiver is a document that absolves a
heath
care provider from liability under HIPAA for
disclosure of a person's private healthcare information
to
a designated list of persons selected by the
individual executing the HIPAA Waiver. Thus with
a HIPAA waiver,
the people you designate will be able to communicate
openly with your healthcare providers.
