Although most provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 remain in effect, adhering to these regulations is now easier due to improvements in electronic medical records software<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), enacted into law 13 years ago in 1996, remains in force. Within 18 months of the regulations being enacted, the U.S. Secretary for Health & Human Services adopted a set of standards from those already approved by private standards developing organizations. These were for certain electronic health transactions<\/a> including claims, enrollment, eligibility, payment, and coordination of benefits. The most relevant administrative provisions were (and still are):<\/p>\n 1.<\/p>\n A mandate on providers and health plans, with a strict timetable. According to this mandate, providers and health plans are required to use the standards for the specified electronic transactions now that they have been adopted. Plans and providers may comply directly, or may use a health care (more…)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Although most provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 remain in effect, adhering to these regulations is now easier due to improvements in electronic medical records software. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), enacted…<\/span><\/p>\n