Time to Redistribute Your HIPAA Privacy Notice
A group health plan, such as a 125 Plan with a health flexible spending account (health FSA) or health reimbursement arrangement (HRA), is subject to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule. If your cooperative sponsors a health FSA or HRA, HIPAA requires distribution of the Notice of Privacy Practices to plan participants on three separate occasions:
- upon enrollment in the plan
- at least once every three years
- whenever the plan’s privacy practices substantially change, if sooner than the three-year period
Co-ops should notify all current health FSA and HRA participants by April 14, 2016 of the availability of the privacy notice and where it’s located, such as the co-op’s intranet. Participants also have the right to obtain a paper copy.
The privacy notice describes the plan’s legal obligations with respect to the uses and disclosures of protected health information (PHI) and outlines participants’ privacy rights.
Sample privacy notice online
A sample privacy notice is posted on the Employee Benefits website. Go to Help & Resources > Document for Coops > HIPAA Resources. Scroll down the page and click on SAMPLE – HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices.
Note: NRECA provides the sample notice for co-ops’ convenience. The privacy officer’s name and contact information, as well as other information, must be completed with plan- and co-op-specific information that reflects your co-op’s plan operations. Because NRECA cannot give your co-op legal advice about its HIPAA obligations, we urge you to review the notice with your legal counsel before distribution.
About HIPAA
HIPAA is the federal regulation that sets strong standards to protect the security and confidentiality of individually identifiable health information. It also provides guidelines for safeguarding the use and disclosure of PHI.
If you have questions, contact the Member Contact Center at 866.673.2299 or contactcenter@nreca.coop.