HEALTHCARE POLICY EVALUATION (HEALTH INSURANCE PORTABILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 1996)

Running head: HEALTH CARE POLICY EVALUATION
HEALTH CARE POLICY EVALUATION (HEALTH INSURANCE PORTABILITY
AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 1996)
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Table of Contents
Introduction..........................................................................................................................2
Discussion............................................................................................................................2
Part 1................................................................................................................................2
Part 2................................................................................................................................4
Part 3................................................................................................................................5
Conclusion...........................................................................................................................6
References............................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act 1996 (HIPAA) is a legal
framework for ensuring confidentiality in personal patient data and for enhancing insurance
coverage (Cohen & Mello, 2018). The purpose and aim of the following paper is to evaluate the
cost effectiveness, equity and financial soundness of the HIPAA, its surrounding ethical,
political, legal factors and nursing perspectives, its relation to state, federal and global health
policy frameworks and the possible nursing strategies and moral obligations to ensure health
promotion.
Discussion
Part 1
The primary aim of the HIPAA is to describe the standards of health information privacy
and insurance coverage. HIPAA aims to ensure cost effectiveness and healthcare equity through
the provision of insurance coverage for citizens who encounter a loss of their jobs (Freundlich,
Freundlich & Drolet, 2018). According to Walker and Druss (2017), unemployment is associated
with a loss of income and hence, a difficulty to afford healthcare services. Hence, as researched
by Drolet et al., (2017), by proving insurance coverage during such conditions, HIPAA ensures
that individuals with employment issues continue to receive financially feasible, quality
healthcare devoid of discrimination. According to Simon, Soni and Cawley (2017), group health
insurance plans encompassing insurance coverage for a number of individuals often impose
restrictions on benefits for individuals who have pre-existing conditions. Pre-existing conditions
generally exist in the form of long term health issues which require expensive and prolonged

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medical treatments (Pesco et al., 2017). The HIPAA ensures cost effectiveness and equity by
administrating limitations on the extent to which such group coverage plans can restrict coverage
benefits to individuals with pre-existing conditions (Soni, 2018). Hence individuals with pre-
existing conditions, due to the HIPAA can continue to receive quality healthcare at rates
beneficial for their financial abilities and without any discrimination considering their unique
health condition needs (Vistnes & Cohen, 2018).
Hence, this legal framework is financially sound since it ensures that individuals with
difficulties in employment or with pre-existing health conditions are not discriminated in terms
of their accessibility to health resources and that financial constraints do not interfere with their
rights to receive quality health care (Valentino, 2017). Further, by safeguarding health
informatics associated patient data, the HIPPAA contributes to financial soundness by preventing
the detrimental financial implications prevalent in security breaches (American Academy of
Pediatrics, 2016).
While implementing policies associated with HIPAA, the nurse must adhere to ethical
duties of ensuring the non-disclosure of patient information fed into health information
technology. The nurse must also adhere to political factors of the Privacy Rule of the HIPAA
where he or she must obtain consent from the patient prior to storing personal information or
disclosing it to healthcare organizations (Cannon & Caldwell, 2016). Further, during
implementation of this policy, the nurse must consider legal factors where he or she may be
required to breach confidentiality and exercise nursing autonomy in situations of elderly or child
abuse, wounds from stabs or gunshots, crime injuries or infectious diseases (McKnight &
Franko, 2016).

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Part 2
It can be observed that the HIPPAA policy relates extensively to the federal level health
policy of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The PPACA outlines that
very individual is entitled to receive affordable and quality healthcare irrespective of their
financial or health status (Schaper et al., 2016). Hence, the HIPPAA complies to such federal
healthcare standards of equal, affordable care by providing insurance coverage and preventing
coverage restrictions on individuals with pre-existing conditions (Frost, 2015). Similarly,
through such equitable insurance provision, the HIPPAA also shows compliance to global
healthcare policies of the Right to Health, formulated by the World Health Organization and the
United Nations, which states that every individual possesses the right to receive optimal
standards of quality healthcare irrespective of class, race, gender or socioeconomic status (Parra-
Vera, 2016). Additionally, the HIPPAA also displays significant compliance to the Minnesota
Living Wills Laws where an individual has the choice to opt for preferred healthcare procedures
during critical life situations. Hence, such state legal compliance is evident in the HIPPAA where
individuals with sudden loss of employment or with pre-existing conditions possess the right to
enjoy quality healthcare during challenging situations (Minnesota Department of Health, 2019).
Additionally, by safeguarding personal patient information across electronic healthcare
information technology, the HIPPAA displays compliance to the state Minnesota Medical Laws
where health professionals may be permitted to disclose sensitive medical information only after
obtaining patient consent (Minnesota Department of Health, 2019) Further, through ensuring
patient information confidentiality, the HIPPAA also adheres to global legal frameworks of the
Right to Privacy in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights where an individual’s privacy or
personal life may not be interfered arbitrarily (Floridi, 2016).

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Hence, it can be observed that the HIPPAA is well designed to adhere to goals of
equitable, secure and cost effective healthcare by compliance to state, federal and global legal
frameworks. However, as researched by Freedman et al., (2016), HIPAA provides patient data
accessibility to only healthcare associated concerns and hence, information may not be relayed to
research organizations – a critical to the advancement of evidence based research.
Part 3
For the purpose of advocating patients with pre-existing conditions or individuals with a
sudden loss of employment, the advanced registered nurse must promote self-empowerment
(Coleman, 2016). One of the most effective ways to encourage patients to feel empowered
enough to raise their voice is through education and hence, the advanced registered nurse must
aim to educate such individuals on the features of HIPAA in order enhance awareness and
ethico-legal health literacy (Wirtes & Lamberth, 2016). The advanced practicing nurse must aim
to gather adequate support from additional organizations and institutes. The nurse can perform
the same by representing such patients or suggesting the concerned healthcare organization to
represent such patients, followed by acquisition of support from organization such as the
National Health Council (NHC) (Kiel, 2015). The NHC will not only engage in enhancing
patient awareness but will also provide additional support to such individuals by being a
common representative voice against insurance companies or groups violating the HIPAA
standards (Wilburn, 2018). The nurse can also advocate for patient accessibility to equitable,
cost-effective and secure healthcare standards of HIPAA by collaboratively communicating with
Information Professionals in the healthcare organization for provision of advanced health
technology with high safety (Blank & McGrady, 2016).

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The advanced registered nurse must also adhere to moral and ethical responsibilities of
basic human dignity by abiding by the principles of catholic social theory of common good
(Jones, 2015). Hence, in accordance to the principles of common good, the nurse is
professionally and morally obliged to maintain the dignity of an individual and advocate against
societal platform or institute that may pose to be a threat to this precious necessity of a person’s
life, by raising a voice against institutes violating the HIPAA and educating patients on the same
(Jezuit et al., 2018). The advanced registered nurse is also morally obliged to provide preferential
options for the poor and hence, be a voice in support for vulnerable population groups and ensure
equitable health care, especially for poor, unemployed or individuals with pre-existing conditions
(Waters et al., 2017). The nurse is also morally obliged to the common good of solidarity where
he or she must consider everyone to be equal irrespective of racial or cultural differences and
hence, is professionally responsible to prevent diseases and promote health across cultures by
practicing culturally competent and culturally sensitive treatment (Mattsson, Axmin & Holm,
2017).
Conclusion
Hence, to conclude the HIPAA is a financially sound, ethical and legal policy framework
aimed at achieving cost-effectiveness and health equity by ensuring patient privacy and
insurance coverage. This law is well designed to show compliance to various state, federal and
global policies but is however, limited to only providing accessibility to healthcare organizations
or individuals dealing with healthcare. Through education, referring and representation the nurse
can advocate for patients deprived of HIPAA accessibility. Lastly, the nurse must adhere to
moral obligations of common good and professional obligations of cultural competence to
promote health across cultures.

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