Posted on 08/09/2002 3:28:25 PM PDT by TomGuy
Bush Administration Decides Not to Require Written Patient Consent for Sharing Medical Records
By Janelle Carter Associated Press Writer
Published: Aug 9, 2002
WASHINGTON (AP) - Hospitals and physicians can share private information about a patient's health with HMOs and insurance companies without the patient's permission, the Bush administration said Friday in a decision denounced by privacy advocates.
Finalizing rules on the handling of medical records, the Department of Health and Human Services set aside a Clinton administration proposal that would have required a patient's written consent before that information could be released.
However, doctors and other health care providers will have to notify patients of privacy policies and make a "good faith effort" to get written acknowledgment under the new policy. Health care providers had complained that requiring written permission could stall needed treatments.
The Clinton version "would have forced sick or injured patients to run all around town getting signatures before they could get care or medicine," said Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson.
He said the Bush administration's approach "strikes a common-sense balance by providing consumers with personal privacy protections and access to high quality care."
"Patients now will have a strong foundation of federal protections for the personal medical information that they share with their doctors, hospitals and others who provide their care and help pay for it," Thompson said.
The regulations take effect April 14, 2003.
The Clinton version of the proposal, which was never put into effect, would have required signed consent forms from patients even for routine matters such as billing statements to insurance providers. The Bush administration announced in March that it planned to strip the written consent requirement from the medical privacy regulations.
Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, promised to introduce legislation to reinstate the mandatory consent forms.
"These regulations are a serious setback for medical privacy," Kennedy said Friday. "Insurance companies and HMOs are given broad access to highly sensitive personal medical information. Action by Congress is clearly needed to guarantee all Americans that the privacy of their medical records will not be abused."
The regulations clarify that personal information cannot be sold or given to drug companies or others that want to market a product or service without patient permission. The final version includes more explicit language to ensure that companies don't use business associate agreements to circumvent marketing rules.
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On the Net:
Health and Human Services regulations: http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa
AP-ES-08-09-02 1759EDT
Bush is selling out the very people who voted for him, in favor of the people who paid his way... I guess if I want my elected representatives to give a rats ass about me, I better get out there and make myself a whole lotta money....
There appears to be lots of confusion about who wants what. Wasn't secret-health-care-industry-takeover Hillary the one for the ID card?
Unintended consequences bump.
The notion that sick patients would have to drive all over town for signatures is a lie.
If consent is needed, it is legal to fax one's signed form; and, I believe, an individual can waive his consent, for convenience, with an insurer, if there is some desire on the part of the patient.
The danger here, in my opinion, is that persons with STDs, depression, etc., which are charged diagnoses, will not be able to protect their privacy.
The insurers have driven up the cost of health care to such an extent that it is impractical for a patient to seek care secretly and pay for it.
This is just another needless slap in the face of individual citizens, just so scum who work for insurance company won't have to be inconvenienced.
This POTUS does not give a damn about the common man.
Having said that, I don't understand the need to bring the Democrats into this argument. Bush is the one who's going to let corporate America (the insurance companies and HMOs) look at my medical records without my consent. That's the bottom line and there's no sugarcoating it.
Precisely.
No, nor do I think Bush and at least half of the Republican Party on this matter is a friend of the individual. They are loyal friends of the HMO and protectionist. They will consider every time HMO best interest over the rights and good of the individual.
BTW I can show Bush is an HMO ran Universal Health Care Suoporter. The Universal Health Care in the article below is HMO controlled.
This was a press release from www.georgewbush.com from his 2000 campaign.
August 17, 1999
Tennessee Governor Becomes 22nd To Endorse George W. Bush
AUSTIN – Tennessee Governor Don Sundquist today endorsed Governor George W. Bush for President.
"I am pleased to join Governor Bush’s campaign and will work hard in Tennessee to help him win the nomination and the Presidency," said Governor Sundquist at a Nashville news conference. "I have known Governor Bush and his family for many years, and I know how important public service is to them."
"As a colleague of Governor Bush’s, I have watched him become one of the strongest governors in the country. His record in Texas is outstanding, and many of his innovative programs have served as models for the nation. Governor Bush is a proven leader who has the unique ability to unite people and accomplish success. I look forward to working with him and his team, as we gain support from Memphis to Mountain City for this dynamic leader," added Governor Sundquist.
"Governor Sundquist is a valued colleague and a good, close friend, and I am honored to have his support" said Governor Bush. "Don is devoted to welfare reform and better education for the people of Tennessee. His help will be important to my campaign in the Volunteer State. I intend to wage a vigorous, winning effort in Tennessee, not only in the primary, but the general election as well."
Re-elected to a second term last year with a record 69 percent of the vote, Governor Sundquist has initiated unprecedented reforms in Tennessee in the areas of welfare, government and crime, while placing a special emphasis on Tennessee children. Under his watch, the growth of government spending has been cut by more than half; the number of employable adults on welfare has been reduced by 60 percent; and Tennessee became the first state in the nation to connect every public school and library to the Internet and to offer universal health care coverage to all children.
Example, I find out my new insurance provider (United Health Care) is selling every detail of my medical history to credit agencies. To maintain my privacy I withhold my SSN. Result: I lose all coverage.
See how that works?
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