[nuconvert]

“This isn’t news. It’s been common practice in the health insurance industry for decades.”

“The medications, of course, are indications of specific health problems. To make sure that applicants are not lying, insurers hire a data-gathering service — Medical Information Bureau, Milliman’s Intelliscript or Ingenix Medpoint.

Intelliscript and Medpoint do computerized searches of a person’s drug use, gleaned from pharmacy benefits managers and other databases. The two companies say they comply with privacy laws. ‘’Ingenix requires each Medpoint client to obtain the authorization of the individual applicant or insured person,’’ said Ingenix spokeswoman Karin Olson.

Last year, the Federal Trade Commission accused both companies of violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act by not offering to provide consumers with information about them. The companies agreed to settlements in which they promised to let people see their personal information.”

Computerized searches like this haven’t been around for decades

[lafroste]

How much in the past do they go? What if I used to take one of those drugs, but no longer. Is the fact that I ever took it going to be held against me? Is the risk of future coverage denial going to become one of the considerations for prescribing the drug in the first place?

Maybe the best solution is don't keep the records. The DB cannot be mined if it does not exist. That's what I hate about the proposed national info clearing house. Anyone who believes that "confidential" information won't be plundered as a matter of routine is naive or lying.

[Beagle8U]

It's not only private insurance that people are denied. You will also be denied employment.

Companies that offer group ins will sort out the ones they don't want in pre-employment physicals.

They can always find a non-medical reason to cover it up and justify it.