Institute:Office of National Coordinator (ONC) Workforce Training Curriculum
Component:Introduction to Health Care and Public Health in the U.S.
Unit:Regulating Health Care
Lecture:Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
Slide content:HIPAA Covered Entities - 2 Health care providers Health plans Insurance companies Health maintenance organizations (HMOs) Company insurance plans Government agencies that pay for health care 8
Slide notes:The first category of covered entities is health care providers. HIPAA defines health care providers quite broadly, to include not only individuals such as doctors and dentists, but also institutions, including clinics, hospitals, and nursing homes. Basically, any person or organization that provides health care, bills for health care, or is paid for health care is a covered entity. Health Care providers are covered entities even if they use a third party, such as a billing service, to transmit the protected electronic information. The second category of covered entities that must follow HIPAA privacy and security rules is health plans. For HIPAA purposes, health plans include health insurance companies, health maintenance organizations, or HMOs, company insurance plans, and government agencies that pay for health care. 8