The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (or HIPPA) was passed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the healthcare system. It included Administrative Simplification provisions that required the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (or HHS) to adopt national standards for electronic health care transactions and code sets, unique health identifiers, and security.
While the initial law was signed into existence in 1996, HIPPA is best thought of as a collection of rules, laws, and policies. Together, they set standards to address the use and disclosure of individuals’ health information—called “protected health information” by health plans, health care clearinghouses, and health care providers—collectively called “covered entities.”