Libertarians launch Internet campaign to thwart government attack on medical privacy

WASHINGTON, DC -- Americans have less than three weeks to block a federal regulation that would require health care providers to turn medical records over to the government -- which could then share them with third parties such as private marketers, police agencies, and even foreign governments.

"If this regulation is approved, you can kiss your medical privacy good-bye," said Steve Dasbach, Libertarian Party national director. "Soon a prospective employer, local cop or even a nosy neighbor with a government job may know if you've ever undergone drug or alcohol treatment, had an abortion or contracted an embarrassing disease."

Dasbach announced that the Libertarian Party has launched an Internet campaign to kill the regulation, based on the party's successful effort to derail the FDIC's "Know Your Customer" bank spying law in March, 1999. Americans can visit defendyourprivacy.comto send an e-mail petition asking their Congressional representative to block the regulation.

By April 14, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson must decide whether to implement the "medical privacy" rules submitted in the waning days of the Clinton administration. The rules, published in the Federal Register on December 28, 2000, mandate that every doctor and health care provider turn patient records over to the HHS and other federal agencies for "safekeeping" -- regardless of whether patients consent.

"If you like the way the government protected the confidentiality of your Social Security number, you're going to love the way it protects your medical records," Dasbach said. "The first step toward protecting your health data is to make sure the government doesn't have it -- which is why we need to block this regulation immediately."

Dasbach noted that the prestigious American Association of Physicians and Surgeons is also fighting the regulation, which the group says would "enable if not guarantee wholesale invasions of privacy." The letter, which documents section by section the problems with the regulation, can be viewed online at http://www.aapsonline.org/aaps/confiden/hhscounscomm.htm.

The regulation would:

* Allow the disclosure, without patient consent, of all medical records for "public health surveillance activities" and dozens of other purposes. Providers could refuse to treat people who refuse to surrender their records.

* Permit police agencies to access medical records without a search warrant.

* Give the government the right to access the private notes of a psychotherapist.

* Allow foreign government officials to see Americans' health records, as long as the U.S. government claims it is doing it for a "national health purpose."

* Assign every American a "unique patient identifier," whether you want one or not, by working in conjunction with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The number would be similar to a Social Security number for medical transactions - and would make accessing an individual's medical records as easy as running a credit check.

* Allow private insurance companies to access the medical information and compile it into a database.

* Give direct marketers access to medical records, and allow pharmacies to share prescription records "for the purpose of marketing health-related products and services" -- all without patient consent.

* Prevent patients involved in health research projects from accessing their own medical records.

"If these proposals aren't stopped, your medical privacy will be in critical condition," Dasbach said. "Fortunately, there's a way to prevent them from going into effect -- but time is running out. Go to DefendYourPrivacy.com immediately and join the Libertarian Party's campaign. Protect your medical privacy by pulling the plug on these frightening new regulations."

Americans who visit the site will be able to send an e-mail to their Congressional representatives urging them to co-sponsor a House resolution that would block the rules. The measure, HJR 38, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, declares that the rules "shall have no force or effect."

"Libertarians proved that e-mail is the musket of the 21st century when we flooded the FDIC with nearly 300,000 comments in February and March, 1999, forcing the agency to abandon its attack on Americans' financial privacy," Dasbach said.

"Now we intend to deploy that weapon again to thwart a raid on medical privacy, and we're all inviting all Americans to join us. What part of the word 'privacy' doesn't the government understand?"

End story.

Go and DO IT NOW! I have.

-- Uncle Deedah (unkeed@yahoo.com), April 01, 2001

Answers

Done deal, Unk.

Don't believe that Senators Kennedy & Kerry would be in support of this...but I sent it anyway.

-- Peg (pegmcleod@mediaone.net), April 01, 2001.

I sent mine on as well. Thanks Unkie, for the heads up!

-- Aunt Bee (Aunt__Bee@hotmail.com), April 01, 2001.

Hope this isnt a double post. I refreshed and didnt see it.

Thank YOU uncle dee, i just sent mine.

-- sumer (shh@aol.con), April 01, 2001.

Thanks very much Unk - done, and passed it on.

-- Debbie (dbspence@usa.net), April 01, 2001.