Insurance Companies and Agents Can Meet HIPAA Requirements through Business Associate Compliance Center |
|
|
|
Written by U.S. Insurance News
|
|
Friday, 11 January 2008 |
The public has to know that it can trust insurance companies and their agents in matters of privacy—such as upholding the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
The public has to know that it can trust insurance companies and their agents in matters of privacy—such as upholding the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
To assist with this trust, the Business Associate Compliance Center provides online compliance management exclusively for Business Associates to meet the HIPAA requirements of their business associate contracts with health care clients.
“With today’s emphasis on providing quality information to consumers, the Business Associate Compliance Center is the ideal way to ensure the commitment to prospects and policyholders privacy is seamless between insurance company and agent,” said Grant Peterson, compliance director of the Business Associate Compliance Center.
Peterson said the center provides insurance agents with training, policies and procedures, forms, reports, and every other tool necessary to manage HIPAA compliance—all for a low monthly subscription cost.
According to Peterson, when insurance companies recommend that their agents subscribe to the Business Associate Compliance Center, they ensure that continuity of privacy rights extends to the prospect or policyholder, whether information is coming from the company or agent. In addition, the center helps agents and insurance companies meet the obligations of the Business Associate Agreement between the two.
“Business Associates can subscribe to the compliance center for as little as $5 per month. We believe this is a valuable yet cost-effective approach to establishing trust between the insurance company, agent and prospect or policyholder,” Peterson said.
|
