View/print the original copy of this letter, with signatures (PDF)

May 25, 1999

"Medical Privacy Cannot Wait . . . Legislators
in Both Houses Should Embrace [this] Compromise Language."

-  Los Angeles Times (May 10, 1999)

Dear Colleague:

We believe it is essential to enact legislation to protect the privacy of medical records.  We also believe that we can achieve this goal only through a consensus approach.  For this reason we have worked hard to develop the Health Information Privacy Act.  We hope you will become a cosponsor.

Health records contain highly personal information.  Yet under current law, we have little control over our medical records.  Our records can be bought and sold for commercial gain, disclosed to employers, and used to deny individuals insurance.  This invades our reasonable expectations of privacy and even causes some people to withhold important health information.

Enactment of the Health Information Privacy Act would protect the privacy of health information.  It is based on three fundamental principles:  (1) health information should not be used or disclosed without the authorization or knowledge of the patient; (2) individuals should have fundamental rights regarding their medical information, such as the right to access, copy, and amend their records; and (3) federal legislation should not preempt states from adopting local laws that provide greater protection when necessary.

Each of us alone would have drafted different bills.  Because of the pressing need for medical privacy legislation, however, we have tried to develop consensus legislation.  We believe that our bill takes a common sense approach to protecting privacy while allowing appropriate access to health information for public interest purposes.

As the Los Angeles Times wrote in a recent editorial endorsing our approach, "the key . . . lies in finding common ground that eluded legislators last year. . . Legislators in both houses should embrace [this] compromise language."

On the reverse side is a one-page overview of the Health Information Privacy Act for your review.  To cosponsor this bill or to obtain more information, please contact Mike Dayton at 5-6131 (Rep. Condit), Kristin Amerling at 5-5420 (Rep. Waxman), or Angelique Skoulas at 5-2836 (Rep. Markey).

Sincerely,
View the actual signatures (PDF format)

Gary A. Condit
Member of Congress

Henry A. Waxman
Member of Congress

Edward J. Markey
Member of Congress

John D. Dingell
Member of Congress

Sherrod Brown
Member of Congress

Jim Turner
Member of Congress

Read the one-page overview of the bill
Read the more in-depth summary and the bill itself
Read Rep. Waxman´s statement on the bill

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