Talking Points for your calls to your Senators
As your constituent, I am asking you to vote against the Wired for Health Care Quality Act, S. 1693.
- The "Wired for Health Care Quality Act", S.1693 does NOT protect my health privacy rights.
- Congress should not pass health IT legislation without first making sure my family is protected and that our personal health information is kept private, confidential and secure.
- The Wired Act relies almost entirely on HIPAA for its privacy protections. HIPAA does not protect me. The HIPAA "Privacy" Rule is a "Disclosure" Rule. It allows 4 million entities to use my personal health information without my consent and over my objections.
- Sen. Kennedy, the bill's main sponsor, acknowledge himself in a statement in 2002 that HIPAA does not protect my privacy:
"If we don't take steps forward to protect privacy in the information age, our most personal information will be available to every employer, every health insurance company, and every high tech Peeping Tom in America…the new rules recently proposed by the Bush Administration would rescind these protections, and would make private medical records an open book. This is a serious step backwards."
- At a minimum, please support Sen. Leahy's privacy amendment to this bill.
- Please vote against S. 1693. Endorsing the short sighted approach in S.1693 is a prescription for national disaster.
|