What is the primary purpose of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)?

The primary purpose of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is to protect the privacy and security of individuals' health information. HIPAA establishes national standards for the protection of sensitive patient data, ensuring that individuals' medical records and personal health information are kept confidential and secure from unauthorized access.

This focus on privacy and security underpins various provisions of the law, including the Privacy Rule, which governs how healthcare providers, insurers, and other entities handle patients' health information. The Security Rule further complements this by setting standards for safeguarding electronic protected health information (ePHI).

While minimizing healthcare costs, standardizing billing practices, and enhancing public health initiatives are important aspects of healthcare reform, they do not represent HIPAA's primary intent. Instead, the act primarily aims to empower individuals with rights over their health information and impose obligations on entities to protect that data diligently.