Health Information Portability Accounting Act (HIPAA, went into effect the first quarter of 2003. Indeed, HIPAA creates federally mandated requirements regarding protected health information (PHI) that can impact any employer, regardless of its size, location or industry. Government estimates place the price tag for compliance within the public and private sectors at an estimated $22 billion. While the Privacy Rules were not aimed at regulating non-medical employers, employers who sponsor group health plans are affected, de-pending on whether the employer: (1) is fully insured or self-insured; and (2) creates or receives Protected Health Information. Protected Health Information (PHI) is defined to include all individually identifiable health information held or transmitted by a covered entity or business associate electronically or in other forms (Amatayakul, 2000). There are some exceptions. One important PHI exception is that the Privacy Rules do not apply to employment records, including medical information employers use to comply...
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