The Health Information Privacy Act of 1999
(The Condit-Waxman-Markey-Dingell Bill)

Health records contain highly personal information.  Yet under current law, individuals have virtually no control over the information in their health records.  Health records are being bought and sold for commercial gain, disclosed to employers, and used to deny individuals insurance.  Such activities are invading our privacy and causing some to withhold health information from their doctors.  There is no comprehensive federal law that protects health privacy, only a patchwork of state laws, many of which provide only minimal protections.

Enactment of the Health Information Privacy Act would protect the privacy of health information.  It is based on three fundamental principles: 

Health information should not be used or disclosed without the authorization or knowledge of the patient, except in narrow circumstances where there is an overriding public interest (such as protection of public health).

Individuals should have fundamental rights regarding their health records, including the right to access, copy, and amend their records and the opportunity to seek special protection for especially sensitive records.

Federal legislation should provide a "floor," not a "ceiling," allowing states and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish additional protections.

The bill implements many of the recommendations of the HHS Secretary.  Specifically, it:

Requires health care providers and payers to protect individuals' reasonable expectations of privacy regarding health information.

Prohibits the use or disclosure of health information without the authorization or knowledge of patients, except in narrow circumstances.  Using health information for marketing, employment purposes, or insurance underwriting without authorization is specifically prohibited.

Requires that any authorization be based on informed consent, not coerced through the withholding of health care treatment and payment.

Provides individuals with essential rights, such as the opportunity to view and amend their health information and to seek special protections for sensitive information.

Allows the use and disclosure of health information under appropriate circumstances for essential public-interest purposes, including protection of public health, health research, health oversight, and law enforcement.

Establishes a statutory floor for privacy protection that permits the Secretary and states to go beyond the floor to provide greater protection of health information.

Read a more in-depth summary of the bill and the bill itself
Review Rep. Waxman´s statements and letters on Medical Privacy

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