Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) Practice Exam

What are the four main areas of focus that Congress intended HIPAA to address?

1. Increase healthcare diversity, billing transparency, employee satisfaction, and patient choice

2. Keep electronic information secure, keep all information private, continue health coverage, and standardize claims

3. Lower healthcare costs, enhance provider communication, speed up payment processes, and reduce fraud

4. Facilitate research, protect public health, ensure equitable access, and maintain confidentiality

The correct answer is: Keep electronic information secure, keep all information private, continue health coverage, and standardize claims

The correct answer highlights the four primary objectives that Congress aimed to achieve through the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). These objectives focus on the need for enhanced security and privacy of health information, maintenance of health coverage, and standardization of claims processing. Maintaining the security of electronic information is crucial as healthcare providers increasingly rely on digital records, necessitating robust safeguards against data breaches and unauthorized access. Simultaneously, ensuring the privacy of all patient information is foundational to building trust in the healthcare system, allowing patients to feel secure when sharing sensitive health details. Continuing health coverage addresses the concern of individuals losing their health insurance when they change jobs, thereby promoting stability in healthcare access. Standardizing claims processing is important to streamline communication between payers and providers, thereby reducing administrative burdens and ensuring prompt payment for services rendered. Other options mention various components of healthcare that may be significant but do not accurately reflect the core intentions behind HIPAA legislation. Specifically, while reducing costs and enhancing communication among providers are relevant in healthcare discussions, they are not the primary foci of HIPAA. Thus, the answer that outlines the precise objectives of security, privacy, health coverage continuity, and claim standardization is the most accurate representation of HIPAA’s fundamental goals