Insurance Glossary

HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act) is a federal law that is designed to protect patient privacy and assure health insurance portability. HIPAA applies to both health and dental insurance. For example, individuals who change jobs are guaranteed ongoing dental plan eligibility when they leave their employer. It also provides significant protections related to a member's personal health information (PHI), health records, privacy, and confidentiality.

Some dental plans allow members to fund an HSA through pre-tax salary deductions. Members can submit requests to have eligible expenses paid using the balance in the account, including coinsurance, co-payments, and other covered out-of-pocket expenses. While there are similarities, HSAs differ from Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs). The benefit program's dental plan summary documents will outline how HSAs work and what expenses are eligible for payment.