Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a federal law that protects consumers' personal health information.

HIPAA stands for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Passed in 1996, this federal law provides a bunch of protections related to your health coverage and protected health information (PHI) (opens in new tab).

Some of these protections include:

Confidential handling of your protected health information.
Industry standards around health information and electronic billing practices.
The ability to transfer and continue health insurance coverage when you change or lose jobs.
Reduced risk of health care fraud and abuse.

Because of the protections in place under HIPAA, your health information can’t be shared with certain third parties (like your parents or your spouse) without your written authorization, unless that info is needed for your treatment, health care payments, or insurer’s operations.