The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) as updated under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) gives participants certain rights and imposes certain obligations on the Plan with respect to health information. The following sections describe protections afforded a participant's health information as it relates to coverage under the Plan. This information is referred to as "protected health information."
The State and School Employees Health Insurance Management Board is the Plan Sponsor. The Plan will disclose protected health information (PHI) to the Plan Sponsor only upon receipt of certification by the Plan Sponsor that the Plan Document has been amended to incorporate the following provisions. The Plan Sponsor agrees to abide by the following requirements:
The Plan Sponsor will use or disclose PHI only to carry out Plan administration functions for the Plan not inconsistent with the requirements of the HIPAA (45 C.F.R. Parts 160-64), updated in the ARRA as permitted or required by the Plan Document or as required by law.
The Plan Sponsor will ensure that any agent, including any subcontractor, to whom it provides PHI agrees to the same restrictions and conditions included in the Plan Document with respect to PHI.
The Plan Sponsor will not use or disclose PHI for employment-related actions or decisions or in connection with any other benefit or employee benefit plan of the Plan Sponsor.
The Plan Sponsor will report to the Plan any use or disclosure of PHI that is inconsistent with the uses and disclosures allowed under the Plan Document of which it becomes aware.
The Plan Sponsor will make any PHI solely available to it available in accordance with 45 Code of Federal Regulations § 164.524.
The Plan Sponsor will make PHI solely available to it for amendment in accordance with 45 Code of Federal Regulations § 164.526.
The Plan Sponsor will track disclosures it may make of PHI solely available to it so that it can make available the information required for the Plan or its business associates to provide an accounting of disclosures in accordance with 45 Code of Federal Regulations § 164.528.
If the Plan Sponsor uses or maintains electronic health records with respect to PHI, if requested, the Plan Sponsor will provide a copy of such information in "electronic format."
The Plan Sponsor will make available its internal practices, books and records, relating to its use and disclosure of PHI, if any, to the HHS to determine compliance with 45 Code of Federal Regulations Parts 160-64.
The Plan Sponsor will, if feasible, return or destroy all PHI in any form received from the Plan, when PHI is no longer needed for the Plan administration purposes for which the disclosure was made. If it is not feasible to return or destroy all such PHI, the Plan Sponsor will limit the use or disclosure of any PHI it cannot feasibly return or destroy to those purposes that make the return or destruction of the information infeasible.