[Med-privacy] Press Release: PRIVACY GROUPS ACCUSE THE GOVERNMENT OF MISLEADING THE PUBLIC
DPeelMD@aol.com
DPeelMD@aol.com
Fri, 5 Sep 2003 16:08:39 EDT
-------------------------------1062792519
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Press Release Sept 4, 2003
PRIVACY GROUPS ACCUSE THE GOVERNMENT OF MISLEADING THE PUBLIC, IGNORING ITS=20
OWN RESEARCH OVER THE SECRECY OF PATIENT RECORDS=20
--------------------------------- DOCUMENTS REVEAL HOW AMERICANS WERE VICTIM=
S OF =E2=80=98HIPAA-GATE=E2=80=99
Press Release
Contacts:
Jim Pyles
Phone: (202) 466-6550
Dr. Deborah Peel
Phone: (512) 474-9995
Cell: (512) 970-9007
Pager: (800) 626-7072
=20
=20
=20
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 04, 2003
=20
PRIVACY GROUPS ACCUSE THE GOVERNMENT OF MISLEADING THE PUBLIC, IGNORING ITS=20
OWN RESEARCH OVER THE SECRECY OF PATIENT RECORDS
DOCUMENTS REVEAL HOW AMERICANS WERE VICTIMS OF =E2=80=98HIPAA-GATE=E2=80=99=20
PHILADELPHIA -- IN COURT DOCUMENTS FILED TODAY IN U.S. DISTRICT court,=20
attorneys for a group of patients, doctors and privacy advocates accuse the=20
federal government of ignoring overwhelming public opinion to prevent the wi=
despread=20
use of medical records and instead implemented new regulations that threaten=
=20
essential liberties guaranteed by the Constitution.=20
=20
At issue are rules that went effect earlier this year as ordered by the=20
Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the Heal=
th=20
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) which eliminate=
s=20
the right to privacy of individuals for their past and future personal medic=
al=20
records and jeopardizes the privacy of past and future communications betwee=
n=20
patients and their physicians. Under the action by HHS Secretary Tommy=20
Thompson, virtually all personal health information about every aspect of an=
individual
=E2=80=99s life can be used and disclosed routinely without notice, without=20=
the=20
indi=C2=ADvidual=E2=80=99s consent and against his or her will.=20
=20
The agency=E2=80=99s own findings show that the rules affect the medical p=
rivacy=20
rights of =E2=80=9Cvirtually every American,=E2=80=9D and allows more than=20=
=E2=80=9C600,000 entities=E2=80=9D=20
access to their records =E2=80=93 from insurance companies, to bankers, to e=
mployers,=20
according to the brief filed today in the case (CITIZENS FOR HEALTH, et al,=20
versus TOMMY G. THOMPSON, Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human=20
Services.) =20
=20
James C. Pyles, the Washington, D.C. lawyer who represents the plaintiffs=20
who filed suit in April to challenge the new rules, wrote in today=E2=80=99s=
motion for=20
summary judgment that HHS changed the privacy requirements, even though the=20
agency officials had received thousands of comments from citizens urging the=
m to=20
preserve their rights. =E2=80=9CFurther,=E2=80=9D wrote Pyles, =E2=80=9Cthe=20=
amended privacy rule=20
provides no opportunity or mechanism for individuals to object to or refuse=20=
to=20
have their personal health information used and disclosed for routine purpos=
es=20
repeatedly.=E2=80=9D
=20
=E2=80=9CThis inability of the individual to exercise some control over th=
e use and=20
disclosure of his or her health information is exacerbated by the amended ru=
le
=E2=80=99s retention of the provision that exempts routine uses and disclosu=
res from=20
the provision that gives individuals the =E2=80=98right to receive an accoun=
ting=E2=80=99 of=20
the disclosures of their health information.=E2=80=9D
=20
Pyles represents ten national and state associations, seven individuals an=
d=20
two other intervenors who are suing on behalf of nearly three-quarters of a=20
million people who belong to their groups. Plaintiffs include individual hea=
lth=20
care consumers and practitioners, patient advocacy groups, and organizations=
=20
of concerned medical professionals.
=20
Among them is Dr. Deborah Peel, an Austin, Texas, psychiatrist who has=20
testified before Congress on issues of medical privacy and who has been adde=
d as=20
an individual plaintiff to the suit. Dr. Peel said today that Americans shou=
ld=20
be alarmed at how their Constitutional rights were disregarded and their=20
opinions discounted in the rule-changing process. =E2=80=9CThe =E2=80=98HIPA=
A privacy rule=E2=80=99 was=20
turned into a massive =E2=80=98disclosure rule=E2=80=99,=E2=80=9D said Dr. P=
eel.
=20
=E2=80=9CThere is no feasible way to stop the unfettered access to the ent=
ire=20
nation's medical records. And don't forget: because of the Financial Service=
s Act=20
of 1999, all the medical records insurers get can be shared freely with bank=
s=20
and financial institutions they have business relations with. So we have the=
=20
credit bureaus now including medical records in credit reports.=E2=80=9D =20=
=20
States should follow the lead of California, where Gov. Gray Davis recentl=
y=20
signed into law the strictest financial privacy law in the nation, =E2=80=
=9Cbarring=20
corporations that traffic in the use and sale of identifiable personal=20
information from building dossiers on every American that surpass what the S=
ecret=20
Service, FBI, CIA, Mossad, SS, or Russian Secret Police ever could have put=20
together.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CWithout the right of privacy, there is no autonomy, no ability to=
=20
determine who knows what about you,=E2=80=9D Dr. Peel added. =E2=80=9CHistor=
y has shown that those=20
who amass very sensitive information about people abuse it =E2=80=93 just lo=
ok at the=20
IRS, McCarthyism, fascism, and the secret police. Even Nixon=E2=80=99s impea=
chment=20
involved stealing medical records.=E2=80=9D=20
=20
In today=E2=80=99s brief, the lawyers argued that HHS Secretary Thompson a=
nd his=20
staff failed to follow its own doctrine that it was essential to include=20
recognition of the right of consent in federal health information privacy pr=
otections=20
that HIPAA intended. The major purposes of the privacy rule are to enhance=20
protections and restore the public=E2=80=99s trust, the brief contends, quot=
ing HHS=20
internal documents that reached similar conclusions before the rule was chan=
ged. =E2=80=9C
Throughout our nation=E2=80=99s history we have placed the rights of the ind=
ividual at=20
the forefront of our democracy.=E2=80=9D It was also noted that the most bas=
ic=20
protections in our Constitution =E2=80=9Care imbued with an attempt to prote=
ct individual=20
privacy while attempting to balance it against the larger social purposes of=
the=20
nation.=E2=80=9D
=20
HHS previously had found that Americans=E2=80=99 concern about the privacy=
of their=20
medical information was =E2=80=9Cpart of a broader anxiety about the lack of=
privacy=20
in an array of areas.=E2=80=9D Its own researchers cited a number of surveys=
,=20
including a 1995 national survey showing 85% of the respondents were either=20=
=E2=80=9Cvery=20
concerned=E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9Csomewhat concerned=E2=80=9D that insurers and=
employers might gain access=20
and to and use genetic information, as well as a 1997 national survey in whi=
ch=20
63 percent of the participants said they would not take genetic tests if=20
insurers and employers could gain access to the results. Another survey foun=
d that=20
35% of Fortune 500 companies look at people=E2=80=99s medical records before=
making=20
hiring and promotion decisions.
=20
HHS researchers concluded then, =E2=80=9CIndividuals cannot be expected to=
share=20
the most intimate details of their lives unless they have confidence that su=
ch=20
information will not be used or shared inappropriately. Privacy violations=20
reduce consumers=E2=80=99 trust in the health care system and institutions t=
hat serve=20
them. Such a loss of faith can impede the quality of the health care they re=
ceive,=20
and can harm the financial health of health care institutions.=E2=80=9D
=20
Those concerns were set aside by Secretary Thompson, who sided with=20
insurance companies and others who lobbied his staff to change the privacy s=
tandards=20
not long after he was appointed by President George W. Bush. Secretary=20
Thompson =E2=80=9Ccompletely ignores his agency=E2=80=99s prior findings con=
cerning the growing=20
anxiety exhibited by consumers in numerous surveys that their personal priva=
cy is=20
increasingly threatened by the growing computerization of personal=20
information, the increasing ability to determine and disseminate an individu=
al=E2=80=99s genetic=20
information, and the increasing number of individuals and entities in the=20
health care system that seek access to personal health information,=E2=80=
=9D lawyers for=20
the plaintiffs wrote in today=E2=80=99s brief, adding that Thompson also=20=
=E2=80=9Cfails to=20
show how his decision to eliminate the right of individuals to control the u=
se=20
and disclosure of their health information for routine purposes will enhance=
=20
privacy protections and reduce the anxiety of individuals who believe that t=
heir=20
privacy rights with respect to personal health information, including their=20
genetic information, are being eroded.=E2=80=9D
=20
A review of HHS records by lawyer James Pyles also reveals the overwhelmin=
g=20
support among consumers and practitioners for the preservation of the right=20
of consent, and that efforts to eliminate that right appeared to be engineer=
ed=20
principally by a relatively small group of insurance companies, hospitals an=
d=20
their associations. =E2=80=9CThis continued strong public support is remarka=
ble in=20
view of the facts that (a) this was the third rulemaking proceeding on the=20
consent issue in three years, (b) Defendant had issued a public statement wh=
en he=20
put the Original Rule into effect in April 2001 that he and the President we=
re=20
committed to protecting the rights of citizens to keep their medical records=
=20
confidential,=E2=80=9D Pyles wrote in today=E2=80=99s brief, which also deta=
ils how the theft=20
of medical records have become a forgotten part of the Nixon-era scandal,=20
Watergate.
=20
Dr. Peel, the Austin psychiatrist and privacy advocate, makes another=20
analogy. =E2=80=9CThis theft of an entire nation's most sensitive personal i=
nformation was=20
arranged primarily by the insurance lobby, with assistance from the hospital=
=20
and pharmaceutical lobbies,=E2=80=9D she said. =E2=80=9CThink of Enron execs=
directing the=20
Administration's energy policies. This is exactly the same sort of powerful=20
corporate domination of an entire sector of the economy -- health care, for=20
commercial reasons.=E2=80=9D
=20
ABOUT APPEAL FOR PATIENT PRIVACY
Appeal For Patient Privacy Foundation is an Austin, Texas based non-profit=20
focused on protecting the medical privacy rights of all U.S. Citizens. Foun=
ded=20
in 2003 by Deborah C. Peel, M.D., a physician and psychoanalyst, the=20
foundation is supported by consumer donations and staffed by volunteers. Go=
to: =20
www.patientprivacy.info for more information.
=20
=20
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<H2>Press Release Sept 4, 2003</H2>
<H3><FONT color=3Dbrown>PRIVACY GROUPS ACCUSE THE GOVERNMENT OF MISLEADING T=
HE PUBLIC, IGNORING ITS OWN RESEARCH OVER THE SECRECY OF PATIENT RECORDS ---=
------------------------------ DOCUMENTS REVEAL HOW AMERICANS WERE VICTIMS O=
F =E2=80=98HIPAA-GATE=E2=80=99</FONT></H3>
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<P class=3DContact style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B style=3D"mso-bidi-font-w=
eight: normal"><SPAN style=3D"mso-no-proof: yes"><FONT face=3D"Courier New">=
Jim Pyles<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=3DContact style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style=3D"mso-no-proof=
: yes"><FONT face=3D"Courier New">Phone: (202) 466-6550<o:p></o:p></FONT></S=
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eight: normal"><SPAN style=3D"mso-no-proof: yes"><FONT face=3D"Courier New">=
Dr. Deborah Peel<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=3DContact style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style=3D"mso-no-proof=
: yes"><FONT face=3D"Courier New">Phone: (512) 474-9995<o:p></o:p></FONT></S=
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<TD style=3D"BORDER-RIGHT: #d4d0c8; BORDER-TOP: #d4d0c8; BORDER-LEFT: #d4d0c=
8; BORDER-BOTTOM: #d4d0c8; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" width=3D354><FONT=20=
face=3D"Courier New"></FONT></TD>
<TD style=3D"BORDER-RIGHT: #d4d0c8; BORDER-TOP: #d4d0c8; BORDER-LEFT: #d4d0c=
8; BORDER-BOTTOM: #d4d0c8; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" width=3D119><FONT=20=
face=3D"Courier New"></FONT></TD>
<TD style=3D"BORDER-RIGHT: #d4d0c8; BORDER-TOP: #d4d0c8; BORDER-LEFT: #d4d0c=
8; BORDER-BOTTOM: #d4d0c8; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" width=3D187><FONT=20=
face=3D"Courier New"></FONT></TD>
<TD style=3D"BORDER-RIGHT: #d4d0c8; BORDER-TOP: #d4d0c8; BORDER-LEFT: #d4d0c=
8; BORDER-BOTTOM: #d4d0c8; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" width=3D3><FONT fa=
ce=3D"Courier New"></FONT></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<P class=3DMsoTitle style=3D"MARGIN: 24pt 20.5pt 0.25in 41.75pt; LINE-HEIGHT=
: normal"><SPAN style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 14pt; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; mso-bidi-fon=
t-size: 10.0pt"><STRONG><FONT face=3D"Courier New">PRIVACY GROUPS ACCUSE THE=
GOVERNMENT OF MISLEADING THE PUBLIC, IGNORING ITS OWN RESEARCH OVER THE SEC=
RECY OF PATIENT RECORDS</FONT></STRONG></SPAN><SPAN style=3D"TEXT-TRANSFORM:=
none"><BR><FONT face=3D"Courier New" size=3D3><STRONG>
<HR>
<BR></STRONG></FONT></SPAN><SPAN style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12.5pt; TEXT-TRANSFORM:=
none; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt"><BR><STRONG><FONT face=3D"Courier New" co=
lor=3D#990000>DOCUMENTS REVEAL HOW AMERICANS WERE VICTIMS OF =E2=80=98HIPAA-=
GATE=E2=80=99</FONT></STRONG></SPAN><SPAN style=3D"TEXT-TRANSFORM: none"><o:=
p></o:p></SPAN><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3> </FONT>
<P></P>
<P class=3DBodyTextKeep style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 11.5pt 0pt 23.75pt"><FONT face=
=3D"Courier New"><FONT size=3D3><SPAN class=3DLead-inEmphasis><SPAN style=
=3D"TEXT-TRANSFORM: none"><SPAN style=3D"mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN><ST=
RONG>PHILADELPHIA -- IN COURT DOCUMENTS FILED TODAY IN U.S. DISTRICT c</STRO=
NG></SPAN></SPAN><STRONG>ourt</STRONG>, attorneys for a group of patients, d=
octors and privacy advocates accuse the federal government of ignoring overw=
helming public opinion to prevent the widespread use of medical records and=20=
instead implemented new regulations that threaten essential liberties guaran=
teed by the Constitution. </FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=3DBodyTextKeep style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 11.5pt 0pt 23.75pt"><FONT size=
=3D3><FONT face=3D"Courier New"><o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT> </P>
<P class=3DBodyTextKeep style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 11.5pt 0pt 23.75pt"><FONT size=
=3D3><FONT face=3D"Courier New"><SPAN style=3D"mso-tab-count: 1"> </SP=
AN><STRONG>At issue are <SPAN style=3D"LETTER-SPACING: -0.05pt">rules that w=
ent effect earlier this year as ordered by </SPAN></STRONG><SPAN style=3D"LE=
TTER-SPACING: -0.1pt"><STRONG>the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health=
and Human Services</STRONG> under </SPAN><SPAN style=3D"LETTER-SPACING: 0.0=
5pt">the </SPAN><SPAN style=3D"LETTER-SPACING: -0.05pt">Health Insurance Por=
tability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) which eliminates the right t=
o privacy of individuals for their past and future personal medical records=20=
and jeopardizes the privacy of past and future communications between patien=
ts and their physicians. Under the action by HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson, v=
irtually all personal health information about every aspect of an individual=
=E2=80=99s life can be used and disclosed routinely without notice, without=20=
the indi­vidual=E2=80=99s consent and against his or her will. </SPAN></=
FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=3DBodyTextKeep style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 11.5pt 0pt 23.75pt"><FONT size=
=3D3><FONT face=3D"Courier New"><SPAN style=3D"LETTER-SPACING: -0.05pt"><o:p=
></o:p></SPAN></FONT></FONT> </P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 23.75pt 0pt"><FONT size=3D3><FONT=20=
face=3D"Courier New"><SPAN style=3D"mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN><STRONG>=
The agency=E2=80=99s own findings show</STRONG> that the rules affect the me=
dical privacy rights of =E2=80=9Cvirtually every American,=E2=80=9D and allo=
ws more than =E2=80=9C600,000 entities=E2=80=9D access to their records =E2=
=80=93 from insurance companies, to bankers, to employers, according to the=20=
brief filed today in the case (CITIZENS FOR HEALTH, et al, versus TOMMY G. T=
HOMPSON, Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.)<SPAN styl=
e=3D"mso-tab-count: 2"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 23.75pt 0pt"><FONT size=3D3><FONT=20=
face=3D"Courier New"><SPAN style=3D"mso-tab-count: 2"> </S=
PAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 23.75pt 0pt"><FONT size=3D3><FONT=20=
face=3D"Courier New"><SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>James C.=
Pyles, the <st1:place><st1:City>Washington</st1:City>, <st1:State>D.C.</st1=
:State></st1:place> lawyer who represents the plaintiffs who filed suit in A=
pril to challenge the new rules, wrote in today=E2=80=99s motion for summary=
judgment that HHS changed the privacy requirements, even though the agency=20=
officials had received thousands of comments from citizens urging them to pr=
eserve their rights. =E2=80=9CFurther,=E2=80=9D wrote Pyles, =E2=80=9Cthe am=
ended privacy rule provides no opportunity or mechanism for individuals to o=
bject to or refuse to have their personal health information used and disclo=
sed for routine purposes repeatedly.=E2=80=9D</FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 23.75pt 0pt"><FONT size=3D3><FONT=20=
face=3D"Courier New"><o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT> </P>
<P class=3DBodyTextKeep style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 11.5pt 0pt 23.75pt"><FONT size=
=3D3><FONT face=3D"Courier New"><SPAN style=3D"mso-tab-count: 1"> </SP=
AN><STRONG>=E2=80=9CThis inability of the individual to exercise some contro=
l over the use and disclosure of his or her health information is exacerbate=
d by the amended rule=E2=80=99s retention of the provision that exempts rout=
ine uses and disclosures from the provision that gives individuals the =E2=
=80=98right to receive an accounting=E2=80=99 of the disclosures of their he=
alth information.=E2=80=9D</STRONG></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=3DBodyTextKeep style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 11.5pt 0pt 23.75pt"><FONT size=
=3D3><FONT face=3D"Courier New"><o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT> </P>
<P class=3DBodyTextKeep style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 11.5pt 0pt 23.75pt"><FONT size=
=3D3><FONT face=3D"Courier New"><SPAN style=3D"mso-tab-count: 1"> </SP=
AN>Pyles represents <SPAN style=3D"LETTER-SPACING: 0.3pt">ten national and s=
tate associations, seven individuals and two other intervenors who are suing=
on behalf of nearly three-quarters of a million people who belong to their=20=
groups. Plaintiffs include individual health care consumers and practitioner=
s, patient advocacy </SPAN><SPAN style=3D"LETTER-SPACING: -0.05pt">groups, a=
nd</SPAN><SPAN style=3D"LETTER-SPACING: 0.3pt"> organizations of concerned m=
edical professionals.</SPAN></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=3DBodyTextKeep style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 11.5pt 0pt 23.75pt"><FONT size=
=3D3><FONT face=3D"Courier New"><SPAN style=3D"LETTER-SPACING: 0.3pt"></SPAN=
><o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT> </P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 23.75pt 0pt"><FONT size=3D3><FONT=20=
face=3D"Courier New"><SPAN style=3D"mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>Among th=
em is <STRONG>Dr. Deborah Peel</STRONG>, an <st1:place><st1:City>Austin</st1=
:City>, <st1:State>Texas</st1:State></st1:place>, psychiatrist who has testi=
fied before Congress on issues of medical privacy and who has been added as=20=
an individual plaintiff to the suit. Dr. Peel said today that Americans shou=
ld be alarmed at how their Constitutional rights were disregarded and their=20=
opinions discounted in the rule-changing process. <STRONG>=E2=80=9CThe =E2=
=80=98HIPAA privacy rule=E2=80=99 was turned into a massive =E2=80=98disclos=
ure rule=E2=80=99,=E2=80=9D</STRONG> said Dr. Peel.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 23.75pt 0pt"><FONT size=3D3><FONT=20=
face=3D"Courier New"><o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT> </P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 23.75pt 0pt"><FONT size=3D3><FONT=20=
face=3D"Courier New"><SPAN style=3D"mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>=E2=80=
=9CThere is no feasible way to stop the unfettered access to the entire nati=
on's medical records. And don't forget: because of the Financial Services Ac=
t of 1999, all the medical records insurers get can be shared freely with ba=
nks and financial institutions they have business relations with. So we have=
the credit bureaus now including medical records in credit reports.=E2=80=
=9D <SPAN style=3D"mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN></FONT><=
/FONT></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 23.75pt 0pt"><FONT size=3D3><FONT=20=
face=3D"Courier New"><SPAN style=3D"mso-tab-count: 1"></SPAN></FONT></FONT>&=
nbsp;</P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 23.75pt 0pt"><FONT size=3D3><FONT=20=
face=3D"Courier New"><SPAN style=3D"mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>States s=
hould follow the lead of California, where Gov. Gray Davis recently signed i=
nto law the strictest financial privacy law in the nation, <STRONG>=E2=80=
=9Cbarring corporations that traffic in the use and sale of identifiable per=
sonal information from building dossiers on every American that surpass what=
the Secret Service, FBI, CIA, Mossad, SS, or Russian Secret Police ever cou=
ld have put together.=E2=80=9D</STRONG></FONT></FONT></P><FONT face=3D"Couri=
er New">
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 23.75pt 0pt"><BR><FONT size=3D3><S=
PAN style=3D"mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN><STRONG>=E2=80=9CWithout the ri=
ght of privacy</STRONG>, there is no autonomy, no ability to determine who k=
nows what about you,=E2=80=9D Dr. Peel added. =E2=80=9CHistory has shown tha=
t those who amass very sensitive information about people abuse it =E2=80=
=93 just look at the IRS, McCarthyism, fascism, and the secret police. Even=20=
Nixon=E2=80=99s impeachment involved stealing medical records.=E2=80=9D </FO=
NT></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 23.75pt 0pt"><o:p></o:p></FONT><FO=
NT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3> </FONT></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 23.75pt 0pt"><FONT face=3D"Courier=
New"><FONT size=3D3><SPAN style=3D"mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>In today=
=E2=80=99s brief, the lawyers argued that HHS Secretary Thompson and his sta=
ff failed to follow its own doctrine that it was essential to include recogn=
ition of the right of consent in federal health information privacy protecti=
ons that HIPAA intended. <STRONG>The major purposes of the privacy rule are=20=
to enhance protections and restore the public=E2=80=99s trust</STRONG>, the=20=
brief contends, <STRONG>quoting HHS internal documents</STRONG> that reached=
similar conclusions before the rule was changed. =E2=80=9CThroughout our na=
tion=E2=80=99s history we have placed the rights of the individual at the fo=
refront of our democracy.=E2=80=9D It was also noted that the most basic pro=
tections in our Constitution =E2=80=9Care imbued with an attempt to protect=20=
individual privacy while attempting to balance it against the larger social=20=
purposes of the nation.=E2=80=9D</FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 23.75pt 0pt"><FONT size=3D3><FONT=20=
face=3D"Courier New"><o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT> </P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 23.75pt 0pt"><FONT size=3D3><FONT=20=
face=3D"Courier New"><SPAN style=3D"mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>HHS prev=
iously had found that Americans=E2=80=99 concern about the privacy of their=20=
medical information was =E2=80=9Cpart of a broader anxiety about the lack of=
privacy in an array of areas.=E2=80=9D Its own researchers cited a number o=
f surveys, including a 1995 national survey showing 85% of the respondents w=
ere either =E2=80=9Cvery concerned=E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9Csomewhat concerned=
=E2=80=9D that insurers and employers might gain access and to and use genet=
ic information, as well as a 1997 national survey in which 63 percent of the=
participants said they would not take genetic tests if insurers and employe=
rs could gain access to the results. Another survey found that 35% of Fortun=
e 500 companies look at people=E2=80=99s medical records before making hirin=
g and promotion decisions.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 23.75pt 0pt"><FONT size=3D3><FONT=20=
face=3D"Courier New"><o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT> </P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 23.75pt 0pt"><FONT size=3D3><FONT=20=
face=3D"Courier New"><SPAN style=3D"mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN><STRONG>=
HHS researchers concluded then, =E2=80=9CIndividuals cannot be expected to s=
hare the most intimate details of their lives unless they have confidence th=
at such information will not be used or shared inappropriately.</STRONG> Pri=
vacy violations reduce consumers=E2=80=99 trust in the health care system an=
d institutions that serve them. Such a loss of faith can impede the quality=20=
of the health care they receive, and can harm the financial health of health=
care institutions.=E2=80=9D</FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 23.75pt 0pt"><FONT size=3D3><FONT=20=
face=3D"Courier New"><o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT> </P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 23.75pt 0pt"><FONT size=3D3><FONT=20=
face=3D"Courier New"><SPAN style=3D"mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>Those co=
ncerns were set aside by Secretary Thompson, who sided with insurance compan=
ies and others who lobbied his staff to change the privacy standards not lon=
g after he was appointed by President George W. Bush. Secretary Thompson=20=
=E2=80=9Ccompletely ignores his agency=E2=80=99s prior findings concerning t=
he growing anxiety exhibited by consumers in numerous surveys that their per=
sonal privacy is increasingly threatened by the growing computerization of p=
ersonal information, the increasing ability to determine and disseminate an=20=
individual=E2=80=99s genetic information, and the increasing number of indiv=
iduals and entities in the health care system that seek access to personal h=
ealth information,=E2=80=9D lawyers for the plaintiffs wrote in today=E2=80=
=99s brief, adding that Thompson also =E2=80=9Cfails to show how his decisio=
n to eliminate the right of individuals to control the use and disclosure of=
their health information for routine purposes will enhance privacy protecti=
ons and reduce the anxiety of individuals who believe that their privacy rig=
hts with respect to personal health information, including their genetic inf=
ormation, are being eroded.=E2=80=9D</FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 23.75pt 0pt"><FONT size=3D3><FONT=20=
face=3D"Courier New"><o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT> </P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 23.75pt 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><=
FONT size=3D3><FONT face=3D"Courier New"><SPAN style=3D"mso-tab-count: 1">&n=
bsp; </SPAN>A review of HHS records by lawyer James Pyles also reveals the o=
verwhelming support among consumers and practitioners for the preservation o=
f the right of consent, and that efforts to eliminate that right appeared to=
be engineered principally by a relatively small group of insurance companie=
s, hospitals and their associations. =E2=80=9CThis continued strong public s=
upport is remarkable in view of the facts that (a) this was the third rulema=
king proceeding on the consent issue in three years, (b) Defendant had issue=
d a public statement when he put the Original Rule into effect in April 2001=
that he and the President were committed to protecting the rights of citize=
ns to keep their medical records confidential,=E2=80=9D Pyles wrote in today=
=E2=80=99s brief, which also details how the theft of medical records have b=
ecome a forgotten part of the Nixon-era scandal, Watergate.</FONT></FONT></P=
>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 23.75pt 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><=
FONT size=3D3><FONT face=3D"Courier New"><o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT> </P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 23.75pt 0pt"><FONT size=3D3><FONT=20=
face=3D"Courier New"><SPAN style=3D"mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>Dr. Peel=
, the <st1:City><st1:place>Austin</st1:place></st1:City> psychiatrist and pr=
ivacy advocate, makes another analogy. =E2=80=9CThis theft of an entire nati=
on's most sensitive personal information was arranged </FONT></FONT><FONT si=
ze=3D3><FONT face=3D"Courier New">primarily by the insurance lobby, with ass=
istance from the hospital and pharmaceutical lobbies,=E2=80=9D she said.=20=
=E2=80=9CThink of Enron execs directing the Administration's energy policies=
. This is exactly the same sort of powerful corporate domination of an entir=
e sector of the economy -- <STRONG>health care, for commercial reasons.=E2=
=80=9D</STRONG></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 23.75pt 0pt"><FONT size=3D3><FONT=20=
face=3D"Courier New"><o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT><STRONG> </STRONG></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 23.75pt 0pt 0in"><FONT size=3D3><F=
ONT face=3D"Courier New"><B style=3D"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN sty=
le=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>ABOUT APPEAL FOR PATIENT PRIVAC=
Y</B><o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 23.75pt 0pt"><FONT size=3D3><FONT=20=
face=3D"Courier New">Appeal For Patient Privacy Foundation is an Austin, Tex=
as based non-profit focused on protecting the medical privacy rights of all=20=
U.S. Citizens.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Founded in 200=
3 by Deborah C. Peel, M.D., a physician and psychoanalyst, the foundation is=
supported by consumer donations and staffed by volunteers.<SPAN style=3D"ms=
o-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Go to:<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> =
; </SPAN></FONT></FONT><A href=3D"http://www.patientprivacy.info/"><FONT fac=
e=3D"Courier New" size=3D3>www.patientprivacy.info</FONT></A><FONT size=3D3>=
<FONT face=3D"Courier New"> for more information.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></=
P>
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=3D"Courier New" size=3D3> </FONT></o:p></P>
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=3D"Courier New" size=3D3> </FONT></o:p></P></DIV></BODY></HTML>
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