Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996
(also known as the Kennedy-Kassebaum Act)

- Portability of insurance coverage.
- Strengthening of Antifraud provisions and enforcement.
- Administrative Simplification Subtitle.

HIPAA is an opportunity for you to:

- Reduce Administration Costs.
- Reduce Claim Processing Cycle Times.
- Drive e-health Strategies.
- Gain control over your claims process.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), was the result of efforts by the Clinton Administration to reform healthcare. This legislation strives to streamline industry inefficiencies, reduce paperwork, make it easier to detect and prosecute fraud and abuse and enable workers of all professions to change jobs, even if they (or family members) had pre-existing medical conditions. Healthcare organizations, insurers and payers who use electronic means of storing patient data and performing claims submission must comply with these guidelines.

Here are some approaching HIPAA compliance deadlines:

April 14, 2003	Privacy, all covered entities except small health plans.
April 16, 2003	Electronic health care transactions and code sets. All covered entities must have started software and systems testing.
Oct. 16, 2003	Electronic Health Care transactions and code sets. All covered entities who filed for an extension and small health plans.