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29 J.C. & U.L. 525 (2002-2003)
Complying with HIPAA: A Guide for the University and Its Counsel

handle is hein.journals/jcolunly29 and id is 573 raw text is: COMPLYING WITH HIPAA: A GUIDE FOR THE UNIVERSITY AND ITS COUNSEL PIETRINA SCARAGLINO* I. BACKGROUND Colleges and universities' that provide health care or offer employee health benefits have undoubtedly spent a great deal of time and resources trying to understand and comply with their new responsibilities and obliga- tions under privacy regulations promulgated pursuant to the Health Insur- ance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).2 Although the privacy regulations were introduced as somewhat of a Congressional after- thought, they will have a significant impact on the way covered health care providers and benefit plans at universities conduct business. When it was passed, the primary focus of HIPAA was health insurance portability. Congress recognized that an overwhelming majority of people in the United States obtain health insurance coverage through their employers. Congress also recognized the growing frustration of Americans who felt locked into their jobs out of a fear that changing jobs - whether volunta- rily or as a result of economic conditions - could mean losing their em- ployer-based health insurance.3 HIPAA addressed this problem by providing a mechanism for people to maintain their health insurance when changing jobs.4 HIPAA's other aims included the prevention of healthcare fraud and abuse5 and the adoption of tax-related health provisions to encourage the * Associate General Counsel, New York University. B.A., New York University, 1983; J.D., New York University School of Law, 1986. The author would like to thank Marie Pollio, a second-year law student at New York University School of Law, for her invaluable assistance with this article. Due to the potential for revision of the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) in connection with the implementation of regulations promulgated pursuant to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and the delay caused by publication, all citations to the C.F.R. are current as of April 14, 2003. 1. For purposes of this article, references to university will include colleges. 2. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), Pub. L. No. 104-191, § 264 (1996), 110 Stat. 1936, 2033 (codified at 42 U.S.C. § 1320d-2(note) (2000)); Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information, 45 C.F.R. § 160 (2002), 45 C.F.R. § 164 subpts. A, E (2002). 3. That very real concern arose out of the common practice of excluding coverage, either for a specified period of time or permanently, for pre-existing conditions, which were medical conditions that the employee or employee's dependent experienced prior to signing onto a new health insurance program. H.R. REP. No. 104-496, at 68 (1996), re- printed in 1996 U.S.C.C.A.N. 1865, 1868. 4. See 29 U.S.C. §§ 1181-1183 (2000). 5. H.R. REP. No. 104-496, at 67 (1996), reprinted in 1996 U.S.C.C.A.N. at 1866. This aim included administrative simplification by encouraging the development of a health care network through the establishment of standards and requirements for the electronic transmission of certain health information. Id.

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