Please Share Your 'HIPAA Story'
Tell us what happened to you when you lawfully refused to sign the HIPAA form at the doctor's office, hospital, pharmacy or health care facility. This means the 'HIPAA privacy form' or the Notice of Privacy Practices (NPP) acknowledgement statement signifying that you've read, received or understood the NPP.
This statement could be:
-
Given to you as a separate "HIPAA privacy form'
-
Embedded in the official 'consent to treat' form
-
Found as a signature line at the bottom of the clinic or hospital's Notice of Privacy Practices form
-
A single screen on an electronic tablet
-
Never seen, but you're requested to sign an electronic pad
To better understand and explain what is happening in exam rooms across the country, we would like as many stories as possible about what happens when patients refuse to sign the HIPAA form or choose to cross out the NPP acknowledgement statement — as they are lawfully allowed to do.
We particularly want to hear from you if you were denied care, chastised or shamed, forced to miss your appointment or were hurt in any other way.
Or perhaps you’re a doctor or nurse or other clinician and your hospital or ACO system is requiring you to deny care to those who exercise their right to refuse.
Click here to SHARE YOUR STORY.
Right to Refuse
By law, you have the right to refuse to sign the HIPAA Form and/or the HIPAA acknowledgement statement signifying receipt or understanding of the Notice of Privacy Practices (NPP). Clinics and other health care facilities are simply required to "make a good faith effort" to get you to sign it.
FACT: The federal government has publicly stated that you have a right to refuse, and no law requires your signature. This includes your right to even refuse to write the word “refused” on the form.
HHS requires the health care facility to write refused, sign and date it. Not you.
Click here to read HHS Instructions on signing or refusing to sign the NPP.
Refusing to sign does not provide you with any privacy protection. According to a 2010 HHS rule, 1.5 million "business associates" and many others could be given access to your identifiable data without your consent if those who hold your data (hospitals, clinics, labs, health plans, etc.) choose to share it.
HHS: "Refusing to sign the acknowledgement does not prevent a provider or plan from using or disclosing your health information as HIPAA permits."
However, if you do NOT sign, and if your data is then broadly shared without your consent, and if you complain about that disclosure, the clinic staff or its attorneys:
-
Will not be able to say that you signed the form acknowledging that you know your data can be shared broadly under HIPAA.
-
Will not be able to tell you that it was your responsibility not to share confidential data with your doctor.
-
Will not be able to blame you for sharing data that they disclose without your consent.
Was treatment denied? If you refuse to sign the HIPAA privacy form, some clinics or doctors or hospitals may refuse to provide treatment to you or your children. This is in clear violation of your rights — but we have discovered that they may not know you have that right. Their attorneys may have led them to believe that failure to get your signature will lead to a HIPAA violation and a financial penalty. Please be gentle but firm in your refusal. Contact us at CCHF to request wallet-size HIPAA cards to share.
What Health Care Facilities Are Required To Do: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has a web page that says exactly what the clinic, hospital, or other facility are required to do when you lawfully refuse to sign the HIPAA form or the HIPAA acknowledgement statement. This web page includes "the right to complain to HHS and the organization if you believe your privacy rights have been violated." Click here to file a HIPAA complaint with HHS.
CLICK HERE TO SHARE YOUR STORY
Press Releases
•
February 07, 2019
ST. PAUL, Minn.—One of the resolute aims of Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom (CCHF) has been to educate Americans that the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act “Privacy Rule” really isn’t about privacy at all.
Health Freedom Watch
•
September 05, 2018
HEALTH FREEDOM WATCH
Volume 21: Issue 3: 3rd Quarter 2018
Press Releases
•
August 21, 2018
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.
Today is the 22nd 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.
Press Releases
•
March 24, 2016
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.
Testimony
•
March 24, 2016
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
Press Releases
•
March 08, 2016
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.
Press Releases
•
February 16, 2016
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.
Press Releases
•
December 29, 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.
Press Releases
•
April 28, 2014
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.