[Ragin1]

Don't you just love this guy?!

[HalfIrish]

I don't get it.. the Democrats wanted us to have 'smart cards' with all our history on them, available to every government agency (and a few others, too) yet now they act as if they are the wonderful guys in white hats trying to protect our privacy? Looks more like they want to increase our discomfort level with the status quo so we'll start to believe that their wonderful government-run system can "save" us.

[AM2000]

Hospitals and physicians can share private information about a patient's health with HMOs and insurance companies without the patient's permission, the Bush administration said Friday in a decision denounced by privacy advocates.

Bush is selling out the very people who voted for him, in favor of the people who paid his way... I guess if I want my elected representatives to give a rats ass about me, I better get out there and make myself a whole lotta money....

[Lexington Green]

Better be real careful about what you tell your doctor.

[arkfreepdom]

These regulations were going to be a nightmare and would have made taking care of patients very difficult. The privacy regs were ridiculous and had to be rewritten. Do you think Sen. Kennedy is a friend of the individual?

[Libertarianize the GOP]

.

[Diddle E. Squat]

The AP with a misleading headline(again).

[Sungirl]

What's going on? Why is this necessary and why in the world would Kennedy try to to help conservatives??

[caddie]

The Clinton version of the proposal, which was never put into effect, would have required signed consent forms from patients even for routine matters such as billing statements to insurance providers.

The notion that sick patients would have to drive all over town for signatures is a lie.

If consent is needed, it is legal to fax one's signed form; and, I believe, an individual can waive his consent, for convenience, with an insurer, if there is some desire on the part of the patient.

The danger here, in my opinion, is that persons with STDs, depression, etc., which are charged diagnoses, will not be able to protect their privacy.

The insurers have driven up the cost of health care to such an extent that it is impractical for a patient to seek care secretly and pay for it.

This is just another needless slap in the face of individual citizens, just so scum who work for insurance company won't have to be inconvenienced.

This POTUS does not give a damn about the common man.

[swheats]

He's staying consistent with the patient first, which is very good. If you can't trust your health professional with your records, can you really trust him with your life?

[Kobyashi1942]

Bush Administration Decides Not to Require Written Patient Consent for Sharing Medical Records

Big government/Big Brother bump! Thanks Bush!!!!

[Dane]

Now wait a minute!

I thought you all(especially Libertarians) were against Bush implementing the original Clinton EO.

Now that he has discarded it, you all are still up in arms.

HHS MEDICAL-PRIVACY-INVASION RULE: COMMENT DEADLINE THIS WEEK

[Capriole]

Gee, I got all excited because I collect biomedical research data for the US Public Health Service, and I thought this was some new information. But this is nothing new; this is the same stuff we've been hearing about for a couple of years.

[My Favorite Headache]

I actually think this serves in the best interests of our country and our well-being. No sarcasm either. Some of the stipulations and rules you have to follow right now for things to get done with doctors are borderline insane, if not there already.

[YaYa123]

"Hospitals and physicians can share private information about a patient's health with HMOs and insurance companies without the patient's permission.."

Well, praise the Lord for common sense!!
My husband had an angioplasty done on 9-11, but the benefit of it didn't last, and he had to have open heart surgery, 3 weeks ago today. The process invovlved his doctor, his cardiologist, radiologists, a surgical team in Atlanta, 2 hospitals, and Tri-care insurance, who had to decide if we would have to go to the regional military hospital in Augusta for the surgery.

I can't even imagine the stress, time, and worry it would have caused if Dean had had to give permission each step of the way, before those caregivers could look at his medical records. And who the heck would object to these people seeing his records? I trusted them with his life, for goodness sake, I'll surely trust them with his medical records.

If folks got their panties in wad about this presidential decision, let me reassure them. President Bush did the right thing! When it comes to life, death, and the loss of a little paperwork privacy, I got my priorities straight.

[Dawgsquat]

PING! Have at it sweetheart.

[Action-America]

More of Dubya's dismantling the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

I used to think that algore would have been worse.  But, looking at what Dubya has accomplished so far, I'm not so sure any more.  At least, algore would have faced united GOP opposition at every turn, instead of the congressional GOP complicity that we have seen, up to now.

Why am I not surprised?

 

[hove]

Bush is a one termer if this is true! I wonder if he knows this and could give a crap what he does politically. Too much strangeness from this prez. Not gonna be conservative.....wudn't be prudent.....

[Dave S]

Some of you ought to do a little research before you go ballistic. I pulled the following from the Health & Human Services website. I pulled the following from a press release yesterday that the AP guy wrote from. Note this is not a sell out to any one and that the rulings do protect our rights.

---

Under the privacy rule:


Patients must give specific authorization before entities covered by this regulation could use or disclose protected information in most non-routine circumstances - such as releasing information to an employer or for use in marketing activities. Doctors, health plans and other covered entities would be required to follow the rule's standards for the use and disclosure of personal health information.

Covered entities generally will need to provide patients with written notice of their privacy practices and patients' privacy rights. The notice will contain information that could be useful to patients choosing a health plan, doctor or other provider. Patients would generally be asked to sign or otherwise acknowledge receipt of the privacy notice from direct treatment providers.

Pharmacies, health plans and other covered entities must first obtain an individual's specific authorization before sending them marketing materials. At the same time, the rule permits doctors and other covered entities to communicate freely with patients about treatment options and other health-related information, including disease-management programs.

Specifically, improvements to the final rule strengthen the marketing language to make clear that covered entities cannot use business associate agreements to circumvent the rule's marketing prohibition. The improvement explicitly prohibits pharmacies or other covered entities from selling personal medical information to a business that wants to market its products or services under a business associate agreement.

Patients generally will be able to access their personal medical records and request changes to correct any errors. In addition, patients generally could request an accounting of non-routine uses and disclosures of their health information.

[Demidog]

Bush: Scum.