Association Health Plans

What do not you think so that I can find out through injury accident my husband? Why we can not move my mother, the beautiful care home on the street? The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act or HIPAA, led two of my clients through this very life situations.

A man and woman were involved in a terrible car accident. The man was seriously injured. His wife wanted to ensure that the necessary medical care her husband was given. TheWoman could not all medical information from their doctor. Although she is the wife, the new HIPAA laws prevent them from receiving medical information without the express written permission!

In another case, an elderly widow was incapacitated. Her two children they wanted in a nursing home so from that they would receive adequate care. Even if they had an advance directive and health care power of attorney for her mother, they were obliged toCourt are appointed and their guardians, so that her mother in the medical center.

What is the HIPAA law all about?

The HIPAA Law in a Nutshell

HIPAA came on 14 April 2003.

This law applies to virtually every doctor, nurse, pharmacist, dentist and doctor in the nation. It affects everyone access to health information.

What does the Privacy Act does this mean? The regulations stressthat health care providers must limit the health policy information to which they are supposed to receive. This means that health information can not be released to an unauthorized person. This may mean you may not be able to obtain medical records for your spouse or a parent.

HIPAA violation penalties

The penalties for health care providers are enormous. For each violation of the disclosure, it is a $ 100 fine. If the violation is knowing there areImprisonment with a fine of $ 50,000 and up to one year in prison. When receiving information under false pretenses, there are 100,000 U.S. dollar fine and sentenced to five years in prison. If the unlawful sale, transfer or use of the information for commercial advantage, there is a penalty of $ 250,000 and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

How does this affect you? To ensure an easy transition as possible, you have the appropriate language with HIPAA medical release in three of the estate planningDocuments.

Documents Update

The documents that need to be updated are:

Your Living Will and Health Care Power of Attorney
Your Living Trust
Your Vorsorgevollmacht

What if I do nothing?

You then need the signature of the physician or hospital forms in a stressful emergency situation. These documents can not be with your decisions and can be confusing legal and / or medical terminology included. Or you are unable to sign anything, and canRepeat the above scenarios.

If your documents were created before 2003 and since then has not changed, have your attorney review it for HIPAA-compliant language. You miss some or all of these documents? Make an appointment today!