[Politech] Texas atty general sides with open government over privacy [priv]

declan@private

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Texas Atty Genl "rejects" strong federal medical-privacy law
Date: Sun, 29 Feb 2004 16:03:47 -0800
From: Jim Warren <jwarren@private>
To: Dave Farber:;, Declan McCullagh <declan@private>
References: <40424C37.2D1643AF@private>

An interesting clash between (1) open-government vs.
personal-privacy, and (2) state's rights vs. federal authority.  --jim

At 12:34 PM -0800 2/29/04, pmarshall <pwm@private> posted to
med-privacy@private:

>TEXAS AG SAYS NO TO HIPAA: Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott ruled
>Friday that the state's public information law takes
>precedence over a far-reaching federal medical privacy law, a legal
>opinion he called the strongest in the nation.
>
>His decision means Texas media outlets and individuals will have access
>to public information that some hospitals and authorities have
>declined to release under the Federal Health Insurance Portability and
>Accountability Act, known as HIPAA.
>
>"In Texas, government records are presumed open unless a specific
>exception applies. HIPAA is not an exception to the rule of openness in
>the state of Texas," Abbott told the board of directors of the Freedom
>of Information Foundation of Texas at The Associated Press'
>Dallas bureau, where he released his legal opinion.
>
>HIPAA, a sweeping overhaul of the federal health care privacy laws that
>took effect in April, has frustrated journalists and others who
>have found most basic information hard to come by.
>
>"What this means is, governmental bodies who've been using HIPAA as a
>shield just lost that protection," Abbott said.
>
>Abbott said Texas authorities worked closely on the language of the
>ruling with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which
>created the privacy regulations under the law. Still, he said, he
>wouldn't be surprised if the ruling were challenged in court.
>
>http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/state/7950211.htm
>
>[FOI Advocate]
>
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>Med-privacy@private
>http://lists.essential.org/mailman/listinfo/med-privacy

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