HIPAA Hurt Me

22 HIPAA Harms

ST. PAUL, Minn.—Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom (CCHF) is planning a social media event today—the 22nd anniversary of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)—and alerting Americans how HIPAA, in fact, doesn’t protect patient privacy at all. 

HIPAA was signed into law 22 years ago on Aug. 21, 1996, and CCHF will educate the public about “22 HIPAA Harms” throughout the day on Facebook and Twitter. 

Twenty-Two HIPAA Harms

Today is the 22^nd anniversary of HIPAA, the law that eliminated patient privacy rights. On August 21, 1996, President Bill Clinton signed into law “The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act” (HIPAA). In 2003, the “HIPAA privacy rule” (permissive data-disclosure rule) went into effect. To show how little privacy you have, we’ve got a list of 22 ways HIPAA harms you.

Minnesota Bill Would End Coercive Consent Forms and Further Protect Patient Privacy

ST. PAUL, Minn.—Minnesota lawmakers yesterday advanced a bill that would ensure greater patient privacy protection by requiring patients to initial each item to which they are consenting on their health records at the doctor’s office, hospital or clinic—thus allowing patients to pick and choose exactly what information they would like to be shared between medical professionals and for what purposes, says Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom (CCHF, www.cchfreedom.org), which testified yesterday in support of the bill.

CCHF Testimony - HF 1560 Patient Consent Requirements

Prepared Testimony
House File 1560 (Gruenhagen)
Initials required for each item of consent when requested to release health records.

Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Testimony of Twila Brase, President and Co-founder
Presented by Matt Flanders, Legislative Specialist

Notice to Patients: Doctors and Hospitals Must Treat You Even If You Refuse to Sign the HIPAA ‘Privacy’ Form

ST. PAUL, Minn.—It’s certainly not a much-publicized fact, but patients are not required to sign the HIPAA “Privacy” Notice at their doctor’s office, hospital or clinic. And, medical professionals cannot refuse to treat patients who choose not to sign the form.

Don’t Sign the HIPAA ‘Privacy’ Notice at the Doctor’s Office This Year

ST. PAUL, Minn.—It might be the health care surprise of the century for some patients—and even some health care workers. The HIPAA “Privacy” Rule doesn’t ensure patients’ privacy at all.

Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom Celebrates Victories for Patient Rights in 2014

ST. PAUL, Minn.—This past year was perhaps one of the most crucial in history regarding patient rights and privacy, as important issues such as government health care, the storage of and research on baby DNA and federal biosurveillance plans all made headlines.

Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom Tells ‘HIPAA Hurt Me’ Stories to Unveil the Dangers of Coercive ‘Privacy’ Form

If there’s one myth about patient privacy that Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom (CCHF, www.cchfreedom.org) wants to dispel, it’s that HIPAA protects patients.

Exactly the opposite is true, says CCHF, a Minnesota-based national organization dedicated to preserving patient-centered health care and protecting patient and privacy rights.
 

Submit Your HIPAA Hurt Me Story

Please share your story about refusing to sign the HIPAA privacy form. You are allowed to refuse to sign the clinic or hospital "HIPAA Privacy form.” We encourage you to do so  It’s important to exercise this right, and we need as many stories about what happens when patients refuse to sign the form, particularly if you are denied care, made to feel bad, made to miss your appointment or hurt in any other way. Or perhaps you’re a practitioner and your hospital or ACO system is requiring you to deny care to those who exercise their right to refuse.