The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996,
Public Law 104-191 was signed on August 21, 1996.

Part 1: Portability of Health Coverage was effective for plan years beginning on or after June 1, 1997, although certification of coverage was effective June 1, 1997 for all plans.  The protections include Limits on pre-existing condition exclusions, including credit for prior coverage, expanded enrollment rights, non-discrimination rules, guaranteed availability for small employers, and guaranteed renewability for all employers.

http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/newsroom/fshipaa.html (Portability of Health Coverage Overview)

http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq_consumer_hipaa.html (Portability Q&A)

http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/publications/caghp.html (Compliance guide (small entity): HIPAA, WHCRA, Newborns Act, MHPA)

Part 2: Administrative Simplicity and Privacy

To improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the health care system, HIPAA included “Administrative Simplification” provisions that required HHS to adopt national standards for electronic health care transactions.  At the same time, Congress recognized that advances in electronic technology could erode the privacy of health information.  Consequently, Congress incorporated into HIPAA provisions that mandated the adoption of Federal privacy protections for individually identifiable health information.

Regulations issued in December, 2000 set national standards for the protection of health information which applied to the three types of covered entities:  health plans, health care clearinghouses, and health care providers who conduct certain health care transactions electronically.  By the compliance date of April 14, 2003 (April 14, 2004, for small health plans), covered entities must implement standards to protect and guard against the misuse of individually identifiable health information.

http://www.cms.gov/hipaa/hipaa2/default.asp Electronic Data Transmission: Transaction and Code Sets – Security – Identifiers (Provider/Employer/Health Plan)

http://answers.hhs.gov/cgi-bin/hhs.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php?p_sid=ySEcB8Eg&p_lva=&p_li=&p_page=1&p_cat_lvl1=7&p_cat_lvl2=%7Eany%7E&p_search_text=&p_new_search=1 (Privacy: Q&A)

http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/ (Privacy Overall)

http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/smallbusiness.html (Small Provider / Business)

http://privacyruleandresearch.nih.gov/pr_02.asp (Researchers)