New HIPAA Privacy Rule Begins
Sunday, April 13th, 2003 Legislation & Regulation Liability Life & HealthAn insurers trade group said the industry is worried the federal rule, effective Monday, that sets privacy protections for medical records, may block insurers‘ access to data needed for claims processing. The Alliance of American Insurers made the statement prior to the start of rules developed by the Department of Health and Human Services to implement HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Keith Bateman, vice president of workers compensation and health for the Alliance in Downers Grove, Ill. said individual health care providers, "are unlikely to have a full understanding of what is required of them. In the face of this uncertainty, property-casualty insurers are concerned that covered entities will ‘just say no‘ to many legitimate requests for disclosure."
