You posted a lawyer quote from a WND article making an unsupported statement. There’s nothing that prevents a hospital from saying they did NOT admit or treat someone.
I posted a quote from a lawyer who represents hospitals. In her opinion, confirming or denying someone was a patient could be a HIPAA violation. Just the possibility of that would prevent many hospitals from confirming or denying.
If you google it, you'll see that several medical organizations have a "don't confirm or deny" policy, unless the person making enquiries can be confirmed to be authorized to receive the information. Here's one example, and I found several others: Wisconsin, Ohio, etc.
# Agency staff shall not discuss individually identifiable health information (e.g., client's diagnosis or condition) until the following can be confirmed:
- 1. Identity of the caller (e.g., a "call back" to validate the number called or voice recognition) and
- 2. Verification that the caller has a need to know, and the use or disclosure of confidential information is permissible.
If confirmation cannot be made, the agency shall not confirm or deny that the client has in the past or is currently receiving services from the agency. The caller's information can be recorded and provided to the client for disposition.