Answer:
A. Protecting Patient Information
Explanation:
Health information is something that can be very delicate and it is certainly very personal information that must be protected. This is the main function of the HIPAA, protecting patient health information (PHI) and setting limits on how and by who certain health records can be used and released, limiting to only covered entities (such as healthcare employees and insurers).
As a side note, HIPAA also has the function of improving access to long-term care services and combating fraud and abuse in healthcare delivery, but those are not the main functions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, only a "collateral effect" of the protection of patient's data.
