MISSED OPPORTUNITY ON MEDICAL PRIVACY -- HON. GARY A. CONDIT (Extensions of Remarks - October 31, 2000)

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HON. GARY A. CONDIT OF CALIFORNIA IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Tuesday, October 31, 2000

Mr. CONDIT. Mr. Speaker, today I spoke regarding the unfinished business of ensuring Americans that their personal medical information will be kept confidential. Despite a consensus that an individual's health information is easily accessed and susceptible to manipulation, Congress failed to act on this crucial issue.

This is certainly not a new issue. I first introduced comprehensive medical privacy legislation at the beginning of the 104th Congress. Last year, in an effort to reach a consensus, I worked closely with Rep. Henry Waxman, Rep. Ed Markey and Rep. John Dingell to develop a bill that could gain the support of the majority of our colleagues. The product of this effort was H.R. 1941, the Health Information Privacy Act. In addition to the four primary sponsors, 66 of our colleagues joined us in sponsoring this legislation.

We were not alone in our efforts to protect these sensitive records. The Secretary of Health and Human Services, directed by provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, issued proposed health privacy regulations on November 3, 1999 after Congress failed to meet its self imposed deadline. In all, these proposed regulations represent a good solid start, but failed to address several key items since the Secretary's scope was limited to health plans, clearinghouses and providers that share health information electronically.

Therefore, the proposed regulations did not cover health records that have never been maintained or shared electronically. Additionally, the Secretary's proposal does not cover all entities that come into possessions of health information. Safeguards given to an individual's health record should be applied equally, whether it is in the hand of a health care provider, researcher or a lending institution.

Unfortunately, the issue of medical privacy was never given the attention it deserves in this Congress. The leadership of the next Congress, should make this issue a priority and make a public commitment to schedule a full, fair and open floor debate within the first three months of reconvening the next session. This will be the only way we can come to an agreement on comprehensive medical privacy legislation.
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