How did HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) start and whats the purpose of it anyway?

Still don't get this because I find no one follows it (even professionals) and me as all right. Even when they say they take it tremendously seriously.
Answers:
HIPAA was set up to protect our privacy, specifically our personal health information. It be designed to address issues like discrimination, insurance rates, and confusion that resulted when a person's medical history was disclosed.

It's an important directive... too bad more people don't respect it.
Wikipedia have a great article on it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_Insu…

By the way, firms that don't follow it, that get audited by...oh...read out... an insurance commissioner on a witch hunt? They can go out of business very suddenly now-a-days.

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