Projecting the budget impacts of HIPAA

Although the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 was meant to simplify and reduce the cost of delivering health care, the initial steps to comply with all areas of the law are projected to be very costly. Healthcare organizations should take the time to figure the cost of HIPAA compliance into their budgets to avoid costly surprises as compliance measures are implemented. There are several steps a healthcare finance manager can take to manage budget expectations for HIPAA compliance.