Which of the following is NOT an example of a business associate?

A health insurance company providing coverage is not classified as a business associate under HIPAA regulations. Instead, it is considered a covered entity, which is an organization that directly handles protected health information (PHI) as part of its business operations to provide healthcare or related services.

In the context of HIPAA, a business associate is an individual or entity that performs certain functions or activities on behalf of, or provides certain services to, a covered entity that involves the use or disclosure of PHI. For example, a medical transcription service provider transcribes notes from healthcare providers and thus requires access to PHI to perform its job. Similarly, a shredding company that manages physical records containing PHI is a business associate because it handles sensitive information.

A pharmacy software developer accessing PHI also qualifies as a business associate since they create and maintain systems that involve the handling of health information. However, the health insurance company primarily facilitates coverage and payment for healthcare services and is directly engaged with PHI as part of its core functions, rather than as a third party providing a service to a covered entity. Therefore, it is not categorized as a business associate.