Which statement describes the goal of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)?

• A. To ensure a patient's privacy and confidentiality of health-care information
• B. To maximize health insurance coverage for speech-language pathology services
• C. To ensure a free and appropriate education
• D. To ensure a patient's knowledge of health insurance

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is that HIPAA is about protecting patient information. It sets rules to keep health-care information private and confidential, limiting who can see or share PHI and giving patients rights over their records. This includes safeguards for electronic data and clear expectations for how disclosures are handled, so trust between patients and providers isn’t eroded.

The other statements don’t describe HIPAA’s goal. One focuses on increasing insurance coverage for a specific service, which isn’t what HIPAA is about. Another points to a free and appropriate education, which relates to educational laws, not HIPAA. The last mentions patients knowing their health insurance details, which isn’t the purpose of HIPAA either.