4.5 Who Is Covered by the Security Rule?

The covered entities defined in the HIPAA Security Rule are:

Healthcare Providers

Healthcare providers are people who provide services regarding medical care. This includes any organization paid for healthcare. Most common examples are doctors, nurses, dentists, and hospitals.

Health Plans

Any organization, group plan, or individual that offers to pay for an individual’s medical bills falls under the health plans category and is a covered entity.

The category also includes many government health plan programs as well.

Healthcare Clearinghouses

Clearinghouses can be defined as the middle man between healthcare providers and insurance payers. These entities make sure that the payer correctly processes medical claims.