America's Benefit Specialist December 2023

COMPARING HIPAA AND NIST

By Bethany Adams Sales Executive Total HIPAA Raleigh, North Carolina

Incident Response Plans: Both frameworks necessitate having plans for addressing security breaches, crucial for maintaining client trust and compliance. Training and Awareness: Training staff in security policies and procedures is emphasized, as knowledgeable employees are key in safeguarding client information. KEY DIFFERENCES Scope and Applicability: HIPAA specifically targets the healthcare sector, including health insurance agents, focus ing on ePHI protection. Broader in scope, NIST is applicable across various sectors. While not healthcare-specific, its guidelines can enhance overall data-security practices. Mandate: As a federal law, HIPAA non-compliance can re sult in legal penalties, making adherence essential for health insurance agents. While NIST’s guidelines are advisory, ad herence to certain standards may be required under specific contracts or regulations.

For health insurance agents, understanding the distinction between Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and National Institute of Standards and Technology frame works is crucial. Both prioritize data security and privacy, but their applications in the health insurance sector differ significantly. KEY SIMILARITIES Emphasis on Security and Privacy: Both HIPAA and NIST focus on safeguarding data. HIPAA specifically targets the protection of electronic protected health information (ePHI), which is critical for health insurance agents dealing with client data. Risk Assessment: Health insurance agents must conduct thorough risk assessments under both frameworks to identi fy and mitigate threats to sensitive information, a vital step in protecting client data. Access Control: Ensuring that only authorized individuals have access to sensitive information is a shared requirement, particularly important for agents handling ePHI.

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