2.3 COVERED ENTITIES

2.3 COVERED ENTITIES

HIPAA regulations only apply to covered entities.

• Health Care Providers-Doctors, hospitals , clinics, pharmacists, etc. that transmits any personally identifiable health information in electronic form in connection with a person's health care. Health care includes services, supplies , and care provide to an individual to meet an individual's physical, mental, or functional status. ¹

• Health care plans-An individual or group plan that provides or pays the cost of medical care. This includes HMO's, Medicare Parts A&B, Medicare supplement plans, health care program of active military personnel, issuers of long term health care policies, the veteran's health care program, the Indian Health Service Programs.

• Health care clearinghouses-Any entity that processes or facilitates the processing of electronic health information for a covered entity. This includes billing services, community health information systems, and community health management information systems.