What 2 Things Do You Need to Know About HIPAA Certification?

All US healthcare professionals are required to obtain their Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) certification in order to ensure a transparent and efficient medical system. Read below to find out more about the various types of HIPAA certification exams and about the curriculum you need to prepare for each one of them.

• HIPAA Certification Curriculum:

In order to be able to pass the HIPAA exams and receive a certificate validating their knowledge, trainees have to study a certain curriculum. The curriculum includes an introduction to HIPAA, detailing its enactment, regulations, and goals, an introduction to the HIPAA Privacy Rule, other advanced privacy topics, HIPAA Security, standards for electronic transactions, administrative safeguards, and physical and technical safeguards.

People wanting to obtain a HIPAA Specialist certificate will have to prepare a more extensive curriculum. The topics they will have to learn include regulatory compliance and security, financial security and services, Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) requirements, digital healthcare and security, International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards, US State Government Requirements, business continuity planning, and cyber security strategy.

These training modules are offered by various healthcare training companies and they are often bundled up in courses called HIPAA Basic and HIPAA Advanced, according to the type of certificate each healthcare worker needs to obtain. If you cannot find the right bundle of courses you need for your HIPAA certification, contact the training company to see if they can provide you with the exact curriculum you need for your exam.

• Types of HIPAA Certifications:

There are three types of HIPAA Certification exams healthcare professionals can sign up for, according to what job responsibilities they have. The easiest exam, the Certified HIPAA Administrator or CHA for short, is meant for people working in the healthcare industry who do not have access to confidential health data. In order to pass this exam, trainees will only have to prepare some basic information about HIPAA and the Privacy Rule, or, in other words, the HIPAA Basic training course.

The Certified HIPAA Professional (CHP) is an exam created for healthcare professionals who have direct contact with patient records. In order to be able to pass it, applicants will have to undergo the HIPAA Advanced training course, which also focuses on security requirements apart from the Privacy Rule. Candidates for the CHP exam will also have to prove their knowledge in topics such as electronic transactions and administrative, physical, and technical safeguards.

The third and most complex exam, the Certified Security Compliance Specialist or CSCS, is designed for security officers, compliance professionals, compliance managers, privacy officers, security officers, and senior IT staff. This certificate validates a healthcare professional's knowledge and skills in areas like information security, legislations, frameworks, and international standards.

These are some of the most important things any healthcare professional should know about how HIPAA certification works. If you are still not sure which certificate is suitable for you, contact a senior manager in your institution or any HIPAA training company for more information.

Filling Gaps in Coverage With Short Term Health Insurance

There are many different reasons why you may have a gap in your health insurance, but it's important to stay covered. Even the smallest gap in insurance can leave you vulnerable to the high bills that an accident or sudden illness can cause. Fortunately, you can cover any gaps in your health insurance coverage with short term coverage.

Why You Might Need Short Term Coverage

The most common reason why individuals need short term coverage is that they are switching jobs. If you leave one job with coverage, you often have to wait a few months before coverage at your new position kicks in. Other instances where individuals might find a gap in their coverage include if the insured spouse dies, if a couple gets divorced, and when a child graduates college and is no longer covered by their parents' insurance.

COBRA

If you are leaving a job with group health coverage, you may be eligible to continue your coverage if you meet the requirements set up by COBRA, or the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985. COBRA requires companies with 20 or more workers to offer continued access to group insurance plans in the event that an employee or their dependents would lose coverage, such as at the end of employment (for reasons other than gross misconduct), divorce, or death. COBRA provides the option of 18 to 36 months of coverage, depending on circumstances. However, the premiums may be high for COBRA coverage. Departing workers can be required to pay up to 102% of their premium.

State Continuation of Coverage

Depending on your state's laws, you may be able to temporarily continue your coverage even if you're not eligible for continuing coverage through COBRA. This mainly applies to employees from companies with fewer than 20 employees, who are not covered by COBRA statutes. Individual states have statutes to extend coverage for 3 to 6 months, but the states that offer this are limited. To know if yours is one of them, you need to check with your state's health department or insurance commissioner.

Individual Coverage

Individual short term insurance is also a great stopgap if your health insurance coverage ends. Plans typically span from 30 days to six months. Beyond that period, an individual would need to seek a longer-term plan. Short term plans are not generally intended for preventative care measures, so deductibles and premiums can be high. To make the most of needing individual short term insurance, you should seek out an experienced broker to help you find the right plan to fill your needs and nothing more.