Which statement about healthcare policy and law in the united states is the most accurate?

Public health policy plays a vital role in the general wellness and safety of a population. Based on the given needs of a community, public health policy establishes clear goals and solutions towards total health.

What is Public Health Policy?

Public health policy is defined as the laws, regulations, actions, and decisions implemented within society in order to promote wellness and ensure that specific health goals are met.

Public health policies can range from formal legislation to community outreach efforts. Public health policy plays a role in multiple sectors, including:

• Health care

• Insurance

• Education

• Agriculture

• Business

• And more.

A clear public health policy definition can be hard to pin down due to its multidisciplinary nature. However, at the core of all public health policy is a singular mission towards health.

Organizations such as the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration, and other governmental and non-governmental agencies play a large role in public health policy. These organizations perform research and implement education and health initiatives for a population—creating laws and policies that ensure the society has nutritious food to eat, clean water to drink, vaccines for the sick, and access to health care.

The Importance of Public Health Policy

Public health policy is crucial because it brings the theory and research of public health into the practical world. Public health policies create action from research and find widespread solutions to previously identified problems.

As a public health policy official, you are responsible for initiating strategies and policies around both health intervention and prevention. To allow your target population to flourish, you must address not only physical health, but mental, social, and economic well-being as well.

Public Health Policy Examples

Before public health policies are implemented, policymakers and officials will go through an extensive research process to determine what public health issues need to be addressed and formulate the best subsequent solutions. Here are a few common public health policies that have become a core part of society today:

1. Food Safety Policy: Food safety policies are very important to the general health of individuals and people in society. Food-related illnesses are a significant concern, and it is the job of public health officials to formulate policies to ensure that only food that is safe for consumption is made available for the public.

2. Tobacco Use: Many public health officials have put measures in place to reduce the risks of deaths and illnesses caused by tobacco consumption and smoking. Some of these policies include increasing tobacco prices and creating tobacco-free areas in communities to protect non-smokers from the effects of secondary smoking.

3. HIV: Public health policy plays an important role in educating the public about HIV prevention, how to live with the virus, treatment options, and preventing stigma. Public health policies, including increased access to testing, birth control, and medicine, have been implemented to drastically reduce the impact and spread of the virus in various communities.

4. Alcohol: Alcohol abuse is one of the leading causes of vehicular accidents, violence, sexual assault, health complications, and more. Public health policies are crucial in the fight to curtail alcohol dependence and reduce its negative effects on users. Policies on alcohol differ depending on the community, but the most common example is age restrictions in the consumption and purchase of alcohol.

With a Master of Public Health Degree, graduates can pursue careers in government agencies, healthcare organizations, non-profits, higher education, and more. Students will use their knowledge of public health assessment and solutions to promote a healthier society and world at large.

Through intensive study and expert curriculum, the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health’s MPH program provides students with the critical skills and knowledge to tackle a wide range of health challenges in society.

Begin your public health career today by visiting our Master of Public Health program page. For more information on public health news, trends, and research, visit our blog.

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Since 1922, the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health has led the charge in public health research, education, and community collaboration. We tackle today's pressing public health issues and translate research into action. Learn more about our public health degree programs.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is a federal law that required the creation of national standards to protect sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without the patient’s consent or knowledge. The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued the HIPAA Privacy Rule to implement the requirements of HIPAA. The HIPAA Security Rule protects a subset of information covered by the Privacy Rule.

HIPAA Privacy Rule

The Privacy Rule standards address the use and disclosure of individuals’ health information (known as protected health information or PHI) by entities subject to the Privacy Rule. These individuals and organizations are called “covered entities.”

The Privacy Rule also contains standards for individuals’ rights to understand and control how their health information is used. A major goal of the Privacy Rule is to make sure that individuals’ health information is properly protected while allowing the flow of health information needed to provide and promote high-quality healthcare, and to protect the public’s health and well-being. The Privacy Rule permits important uses of information while protecting the privacy of people who seek care and healing.

Covered Entities

The following types of individuals and organizations are subject to the Privacy Rule and considered covered entities:

• Healthcare providers: Every healthcare provider, regardless of size of practice, who electronically transmits health information in connection with certain transactions. These transactions include:

• • Claims
  • Benefit eligibility inquiries
  • Referral authorization requests
  • Other transactions for which HHS has established standards under the HIPAA Transactions Rule.
• Health plans:
  Health plans include:

• • Health, dental, vision, and prescription drug insurers
  • Health maintenance organizations (HMOs)
  • Medicare, Medicaid, Medicare+Choice, and Medicare supplement insurers
  • Long-term care insurers (excluding nursing home fixed-indemnity policies)
  • Employer-sponsored group health plans
  • Government- and church-sponsored health plans
  • Multi-employer health plans

Exception: A group health plan with fewer than 50 participants that is administered solely by the employer that established and maintains the plan is not a covered entity.

• Healthcare clearinghouses: Entities that process nonstandard information they receive from another entity into a standard (i.e., standard format or data content), or vice versa. In most instances, healthcare clearinghouses will receive individually identifiable health information only when they are providing these processing services to a health plan or healthcare provider as a business associate.

• Business associates: A person or organization (other than a member of a covered entity’s workforce) using or disclosing individually identifiable health information to perform or provide functions, activities, or services for a covered entity.These functions, activities, or services include:

• • Claims processing
  • Data analysis
  • Utilization review
  • Billing

Permitted Uses and Disclosures

The law permits, but does not require, a covered entity to use and disclose PHI, without an individual’s authorization, for the following purposes or situations:

• Disclosure to the individual (if the information is required for access or accounting of disclosures, the entity MUST disclose to the individual)
• Treatment, payment, and healthcare operations
• Opportunity to agree or object to the disclosure of PHI
  • An entity can obtain informal permission by asking the individual outright, or by circumstances that clearly give the individual the opportunity to agree, acquiesce, or object
• Incident to an otherwise permitted use and disclosure
• Limited dataset for research, public health, or healthcare operations
• Public interest and benefit activities—The Privacy Rule permits use and disclosure of PHI, without an individual’s authorization or permission, for 12 national priority purposes:

1. When required by law
2. Public health activities
3. Victims of abuse or neglect or domestic violence
4. Health oversight activities
5. Judicial and administrative proceedings
6. Law enforcement
7. Functions (such as identification) concerning deceased persons
8. Cadaveric organ, eye, or tissue donation
9. Research, under certain conditions
10. To prevent or lessen a serious threat to health or safety
11. Essential government functions
12. Workers’ compensation

HIPAA Security Rule

While the HIPAA Privacy Rule safeguards PHI, the Security Rule protects a subset of information covered by the Privacy Rule. This subset is all individually identifiable health information a covered entity creates, receives, maintains, or transmits in electronic form. This information is called electronic protected health information, or e-PHI. The Security Rule does not apply to PHI transmitted orally or in writing.

To comply with the HIPAA Security Rule, all covered entities must:

• Ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of all e-PHI
• Detect and safeguard against anticipated threats to the security of the information
• Protect against anticipated impermissible uses or disclosures that are not allowed by the rule
• Certify compliance by their workforce

Covered entities should rely on professional ethics and best judgment when considering requests for these permissive uses and disclosures. The HHS Office for Civil Rights enforces HIPAA rules, and all complaints should be reported to that office. HIPAA violations may result in civil monetary or criminal penalties.

For more information, visit HHS’s HIPAA website.

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