Information on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act in Virginia

A federal law called the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) made important changes regarding health insurance in the United States. The Virginia General Assembly passed laws implementing the requirements of HIPAA. These laws provide you with important protections. In some cases, the Virginia laws already met or exceeded these new federal standards prior to the implementation of HIPAA.

HIPAA and the laws enacted in Virginia to implement it may assist you in the following situations:

• Increasing your ability to get health coverage for yourself and your dependents if you start a new job;
• Lessening your chance of losing existing health care coverage; Helping you maintain continuous health coverage for yourself and your dependents when you change jobs; and
• Helping you buy health insurance coverage if you lose coverage under an employer's group health plan and have no other health coverage available.

HIPAA and Virginia laws enacted to implement HIPAA provide the following specific protections:

• Limit the use of pre-existing condition exclusions;
• Prohibit group health plans from discriminating by denying you coverage or charging you more for coverage based on your or your dependent's past or present health conditions;
• Guarantee certain small employers, and certain individuals who lose job-related coverage, the right to purchase health insurance; and
• Guarantee, in most cases, that employers or individuals who purchase health insurance can renew coverage regardless of any health conditions of individuals covered by the insurance.

HIPAA (and the state laws that implement it) is complex. Because of the complexity of these laws and how they may apply to your situation, we encourage you to call the Bureau of Insurance to discuss the protections available to you under HIPAA and Virginia law.