HEALTH INSURANCE PORTABILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT 1996 (HIPAA)

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of the County of York’s HIPAA Initiative is to comply with the requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)

The York County HIPAA Program will implement and maintain a system, which integrates confidentiality, privacy and security into all aspects of County operations, while maintaining record keeping and cost-efficiencies on behalf of the citizens of York County

Auspices
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Civil Rights.

Purpose
The purpose of the legislation is:
1. To allow individuals to take their health insurance coverage with them when they change or leave jobs (Portability),
2. To standardize electronic healthcare transactions and to protect the privacy and security of individually identifiable protected health information (PHI) (Accountability).

York County Plan for Implementation
York County is committed to protecting the privacy, security and confidentially of the health information of all consumers that we serve, and demonstrated this commitment by employing a HIPAA Coordinator in 2002.

The York County Human Resources Department employs a HIPAA Coordinator who is able to facilitate the priority of coordinating and implementing the policies, procedures, documentation and record keeping necessary for Human Services staff to comply with the law.

The County Notice of Privacy Practices
The York County NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES for Personal Health Information became effective April 14, 2003, and is updated as needed. A copy of this document can be found by clicking here.

What Does the HIPAA Privacy Rule Mean for You as a Consumer?
Individuals have been granted certain rights with respect to protected health information as a result of the HIPAA regulations. Individual rights include:

• The right to restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of protected health information
• The right to receive confidential communications of protected health information
• The right to inspect and receive a copy of protected health information
• The right to amend (correct) protected health information
• The right to receive an accounting of disclosures of protected health information
• The right to obtain a paper copy of the organization’s Notice of Privacy Practices which contains information about the organization’s responsibilities as well as the individual’s rights
• The right to file a complaint if individual privacy rights are violated


Web Sites for Additional Information
If you would like more information about the HIPAA regulations, their impact on the healthcare industry and how it affects you as a consumer, the following web sites are samples of those that contain helpful information.

www.cms.hhs.gov/hipaa
www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa
www.dpw.state.pa.us/omap/provinf/omaphipaaqa.asp