Will new health rules harm privacy?

April 15, 2003 - Privacy News

The HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) rules are now in effect. Originally HIPAA was supposed to make health care portable from one job to another, as well as making it affordable.

The current rule however, allows ease of disclosure of personal health information to a variety of entities. “The Bush administration modified the rule so that healthcare insurers, providers, institutions, and others could transfer medical information electronically to pay claims, treat patients, and do other tasks - without patients' consent.” Sharing health information for “healthcare operations” is also allowed, but “healthcare operations” is a term that is so broad, many believe it includes marketing purposes.

More information is available at <http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0415/p09s01-coop.html>.

Last updated April 15, 2003