• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Law Offices of Kobrick and Moccia

Long Island Estate Planning Attorneys

ESTATE, TRUST PLANNING &
ELDER LAW INFORMATION CENTER

Call Now: (800) 295.1917

  • Attend Our Free Webinars
  • Home
  • Our Firm
    • About Our Firm
    • Client Testimonials
    • Meet Our Team
  • Services
    • Blended Family Planning
    • Elder Law
    • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
    • Estate Planning Services
    • IRA & Retirement Planning
    • Legacy Planning
    • LGBTQ Estate Planning
    • Pet Planning
    • SECURE Act
    • Special Needs Planning
    • Trust Administration
  • Elder Law
    • Coping With Alzheimer’s
    • Guardianship
    • Medicaid Planning
    • Nursing Home Planning
  • Resources
    • Articles
    • Elder Law Resources
      • Commack Elder Law
      • Elder Law Reports
      • Harrison Elder Law
      • Hauppauge Elder Law
      • Rockville Centre Elder Law
      • White Plains Elder Law
    • Estate Planning Definitions
    • FREE Estate Planning Worksheet
    • FREE Seminars
    • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Elder Law
      • Estate Planning
      • Families Without an Estate Plan
      • Legacy Wealth Planning
      • LGBTQ Estate Planning
      • Medicaid
      • Probate
      • Trust Administration
      • Trust Administration & Probate
      • Wills and Trusts
    • Is My Estate Plan Outdated?
    • Legacy Wealth Planning Consultation Form
    • Medicaid Resources
    • Probate Resources
      • Harrison Probate
      • Hauppauge Probate
      • Long Island Probate
    • Probate Checklist
    • Special Reports
      • Advanced Estate Planning
      • Basic Estate Planning
      • Estate Planning for Niches
      • Trust Administration
    • Top Estate Planning Techniques
  • Communities We Serve
    • Nassau County
      • Garden City
      • Lynbrook
      • Malverne
      • Rockville Centre
    • Suffolk County
      • Commack
      • Dix Hills
      • Hauppauge
      • Nesconset
      • Smithtown
    • Westchester County
      • Harrison
      • Mamaroneck
      • Rye Brook
      • White Plains
  • Webinars
  • BLOG
  • Reviews
    • Our Reviews
    • Review Us
  • Contact Us
Home » Estate Planning » What Is The HIPAA?

What Is The HIPAA?

November 17, 2010 by Anthony Moccia Leave a Comment

A health care proxy or durable medical power of attorney is an advance health care directive that appoints an agent to act in your behalf should you become incapacitated and unable to make your own medical decisions. This along with a living will within which you state your health care preferences are two rudimentary components to most estate plans. However, there is a third piece to the puzzle that is also useful in response to the passing of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.

When you make a health insurance claim or go to a doctor or pharmacy the details are all kept on record, and due to the passage of the HIPAA this information is not to be released to anyone without your permission. The purpose of the act was to protect your right to privacy and confidentiality, but it has created some unintended consequences.

Each hospital institutes its own privacy policy that address rules set forth by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The health care providers who treat patients in hospitals must abide by these rules. For this reason they sometimes refuse to divulge information about the condition of a patient to his or her family citing HIPAA regulations. There are even instances when the patient has executed a durable medical power of attorney and appointed an agent who is denied information about the patient’s condition.

Because of the way that some hospitals and health care providers choose to interpret the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, many estate planning attorneys recommend the inclusion of a HIPAA release along with your advance health care directives. When the release can be shown the hospital has no pretext for withholding information from the proxy. In addition, some people may choose to include multiple family members on the HIPAA release so that they can all freely have engage in a useful dialogue with health care providers.

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Anthony Moccia
Anthony Moccia
Anthony Moccia is an attorney and partner at The Law Offices of Kobrick & Moccia.His practice focuses on estate planning and elder law.He is a member of the New York State and Nassau County Bar Associations.He frequently presents free seminars on wills & living trusts to area residents and his seminars are said to be “informative, entertaining & easy to understand.”
Anthony Moccia
Latest posts by Anthony Moccia (see all)
  • “Last Will and Testament” Origin - April 1, 2021
  • Do I Need a “Durable” Power of Attorney? - April 2, 2020
  • Joint Tenancy Pros and Cons - March 31, 2020

Filed Under: Estate Planning, Powers of Attorney Tagged With: Advance Health Care Directives, Estate Planning, HIPAA, Incapacity Planning

Other Articles You May Find Useful

“Last Will and Testament” Origin
Joint Tenancy Pros and Cons
Joint Tenancy Pros and Cons
Planning for the Sandwich Generation
Planning for the Sandwich Generation
Best-Places-to-Retire-State
Best Places to Retire: State Taxation
men writing on paper
Whom Do You Want to Get Your Assets?
men writing on paper
Beneficiary Designations and Other Non-Probate Transfers

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Primary Sidebar

Law Offices of Kobrick and Moccia

Download our free estate planning worksheet

There's a lot that goes into setting up a comprehensive estate plan, but with our FREE worksheet, you'll be one step closer to getting yourself and your family on the path to a secure and happy future.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Blog Subscription

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

GARDEN CITY

1305 Franklin Avenue Suite 170
Garden City, NY 11530
United States (US)
Phone: (516) 248-9500
Fax: (516) 248-7606

HAUPPAUGE

150 Motor Parkway Suite 401 (Regus)
Hauppauge, NY 11788
United States (US)
Phone: (631) 941-3400
Fax: (516) 248-7606

HARRISON

600 Mamaroneck Avenue, 4th Floor
Harrison, NY 10528
United States (US)
Phone: (914) 701-0777
Fax: (516) 248-7606

MAP

kobrick_sidbr_map

Office Hours

Monday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Footer

footer-logo
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

The information on this Attorneys & Lawyers / Law Firm website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this or associated pages, documents, comments, answers, emails, or other communications should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. The information on this website is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing of this information does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.

Kobrick and Moccia, Attorneys at Law. Privacy Policy | Contact Us | Disclaimer | Site Map | Powered by American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys

Law Offices of Kobrick and Moccia
Attorney Advertisement
© 2023 American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.