{"id":643,"date":"2026-06-25T17:22:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T17:22:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mnhealthrecordprivacy.com\/?p=643"},"modified":"2026-06-25T17:22:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T17:22:11","slug":"what-is-hippa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mnhealthrecordprivacy.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/25\/what-is-hippa\/","title":{"rendered":"What is HIPPA?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is HIPPA and What It Means for Your Minnesota Records<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you searched what is HIPPA, you are likely worried about your medical privacy. You are also not alone, because health data breaches grow more common each year<\/a>. Federal regulators log hundreds of large breaches on the federal breach portal<\/a> every year. Many of those exposed patients live right here in Minneapolis and across Minnesota. The word you typed is a common misspelling of the federal privacy law named HIPAA. As a Minneapolis HIPPA lawyer, we answer this question for patients almost every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here at Kuhlman Law<\/a>, we help Minnesota patients whose records were viewed or shared without consent. Attorney Christopher Kuhlman focuses on health record privacy and stands up for people, not hospitals. He helps clients across Hennepin County who feel exposed after a breach or an act of snooping. Our office explains what is HIPPA in plain words and shows how Minnesota law can help. We offer a free consultation and a contingency fee, so you pay nothing unless we win. Call Kuhlman Law today to learn what is HIPPA and what it means for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is HIPPA Once You Fix the Spelling<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

No real law is spelled HIPPA, even though many people type it that way and it even sounds like that when you say it. The correct name is HIPAA, short for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a> describes it as a national privacy standard. It limits who may see your records and when they may share them. So learning what is HIPPA simply means learning what HIPAA requires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What HIPAA Protects for You<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your records hold more than a list of visits and tests. They reveal your conditions, your medicines, and your history. That depth is exactly why the law guards them so closely. A single leak can expose details you never share. The law treats this information as deeply personal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HIPAA guards what the law calls protected health information. That covers your diagnosis, your test results, and your billing records. The federal HIPAA overview<\/a> explains these basic duties for patients. A provider may not share this information outside your care without a lawful basis. When a provider ignores that limit, your privacy suffers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is HIPPA Unable to Do for You<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is the part that frustrates many patients who learn what is HIPPA. The federal law does not let you file your own lawsuit after a breach. Lawyers call that gap a missing private right of action<\/a>. You may file a complaint, but any fine goes to the government. So HIPAA protects your privacy yet rarely puts money in your hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Minnesota Law Goes Further<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minnesota chose to give patients more than the federal floor. Lawmakers saw that a breach can cause real and lasting harm. So the state added rights that put patients in control. Those rights make a real difference after a breach. They are why our office leans on state law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minnesota did not stop at the federal floor that HIPAA set. The state passed its own law to give patients stronger rights. That law adds protections in several important ways, including the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n