The HIPAA or Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act was passed by congress in 1996 in order to provide HIPAA rights or protection for employees when they change jobs or are involuntarily terminated from their job. The Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act was also designed to prevent health care fraud and to insure that the Department Health and Human Services establish rules that enhance health care system efficiency.

There are many facets to HIPAA and several moving parts to establishing HIPAA requirements. The most common Hippa rights subject matter is contained within Title One and Title Two of the HIPAA act.

Title One: Title one of HIPAA was enacted for the standardization of group health plans as well as certain individual health policies. Title one places regulations on restrictions that group plans can place on benefits for pre-existing conditions. The country would be a beautiful place if no one ever got sick. Unfortunately, we know that sickness is inevitable. Group insurers are allowed to place 12-18 month “exclusions” of coverage on certain pre-existing conditions. Simply put a group insurer may offer group coverage for an individual. However, the insurer may delay coverage for a condition that existed prior to plan enrollment. Title one of the Health Insurance Portability act protects the insurance seeker in that it does not allow insurers to place exclusions on pre-existing conditions if the insurance seeker had creditable coverage for a period prior to enrollment in the new plan. If there is an exclusion period, HIPAA decreases exclusion periods by the length of time that an insurance seeker had creditable coverage. For the sake of clarity of medical insurance portability an example is provided below:

John has recently been laid off from a job he has had for three years. John has had health insurance coverage through his employer’s group health plan for the entire three-year period. John has been treated for a medical condition just 3 weeks prior to being terminated. HIPAA requirements insure that if John is hired to a new job and subsequently applying for health coverage under a new group health plan, the insurer may not place an exclusion period of 12 months on John’s pre-existing condition because he has had creditable group health plan coverage for at least a 12 month period prior to new plan enrollment.

Title Two: Title Two of HIPAA protects HIPAA rights by assigning penalties associated with offenses related to health care. HIPAA rights are further protected under Title Two with the creation of programs that target controlling fraud within the health care system. HIPAA requirements include rules to be drafted to increase the overall effectiveness of the health care system by creating criteria for the distribution of health care information.

The Department of Health and Human Services defines the entities that must comply with HIPAA requirements. Entities include health care providers, health plans and health care billing services that transmit medical information and health records. The Department of Health and Human Services has disseminated five rules that are incorporated in Title Two of HIPAA. Privacy Rule, Transactions and Code Sets Rule, Security Rule, the Unique Rule and the Enforcement Rule. For more information regarding specific HIPAA rules see HIPAA rules at the Texas Low Cost Health Insurance web site.

By: Simeon Knight

This article will provide information for people who need help finding HIPPA health insurance portability plans in Colorado. HIPAA is a federal law that guarantees U.S. residents, including those living in Colorado, the right to buy health insurance coverage. Once you have had a health insurance plan in place, you can use your portability rights to get another one, even if you have a pre-existing health condition.

Your Rights Under Federal Law

Under the provisions of HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), you cannot be denied insurance coverage because of a pre-existing condition if you meet the following criteria (among certain others so be sure and speak with an experienced Colorado health insurance agent):

You have been covered for at least 18 months (this coverage period must end with your having been insured through your work).

You have used up your continuation coverage under the terms of COBRA or those available under Colorado state law.

You haven’t had any gaps in your coverage for longer than 63 days.

As you can see, when it comes to exercising your rights under HIPAA, time is of the essence. The good news is that if you meet these criteria, all companies that offer CO individual health insurance coverage must offer to cover you.

Your Rights Under Colorado State Law

Colorado has also passed legislation that regulate conditions under which an insurance company is required to offer to cover you, which pre-existing conditions are covered, and the cap on the amount the company can charge in premiums where there is a pre-existing condition.

If you have questions or need help finding HIPAA health insurance portability plans in Colorado, the Colorado Department of Insurance will be able to help you. You can contact them at 1-800 930-3745 or visit them online. For information about companies offering health insurance to CO residents, why don’t you compare rates using a free online quote tool?

Compare Colorado HIPAA Health Insurance Plans Now

If you feel that you may be eligible for a HIPAA health insurance plan in Colorado then be sure and shop around and compare rates from multiple individual health insurance companies.

By: James J. Robinson

Deciding on which health plan to buy is not an easy task. Health insurance companies are rolling out new types of plans everyday. Whether you’re looking for an all-inclusive type plan, or the bare bones type of plan, it’s there for you online.

Affordable Colorado Individual Health Insurance Plans

Health insurance plans in Colorado vary widely. You can find low cost plans that cover major medical events, or you can get a plan with coverage from top to bottom. Many plans can even be customized with only the coverage you want.

One popular method starts with a basic hospitalization plan. Many of these basic plans offer (pick and choose riders) that you can add-on to a basic policy, this way you only pay for what you want in medical coverage. It could be a routine doctor visit rider, or it could be a small emergency rider that you add-on to your basic hospitalization insurance plan.

By searching out your options in health insurance, you’ll soon find many variations of health insurance plans at all price levels. One off the most popular is a (Managed Health Care) type of plan. This type of plan provides quality health insurance coverage at the lowest possible cost. This type of plan relies on a network of healthcare providers in your area.

Most Insurance companies have a list of available providers listed on their web sites. Always be sure to check the list of providers in your area. Some areas have many choices and other areas have fewer choices.

Colorado Health Insurance Information and Quotes

Shopping for health insurance plans, information, and quotes is easily done online. There are websites chock full of information about health insurance plans in Colorado. All you need to do is browse a few of these websites, to find everything you need to know about buying health insurance.

By: Jim Westin