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Don’t you just love government
red tape? This time the bureaucratic process has given us a
real doozy—it’s called the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act or HIPAA for short. And the unintended
affects of HIPPA could have a dramatic effect on you.
HIPAA legislation took effect in April of 2001. It set
national standards for the protection of ‘individually
identifiable health information.’ Specifically, the Rule
relates to how health care organizations share and divulge
medical information.
There are good reasons for these new protections. They are
designed to prevent unauthorized invasions into your medical
privacy.
If you’ve ever received a letter from a drug company
marketing their solution to one of your ailments, chances
are the information was purchased from your pharmacy making
them aware of your condition. The new HIPAA regulations are
designed to prevent this and other unauthorized releases of
your medical information.
Basically, health care providers now must have your written
permission before they can release any of your medical
information to anyone else. This can cause some very awkward
situations.
For instance, one man’s wife recently went to the doctor.
The doctor sent her to the hospital for some tests. The
hospital in turn admitted her. She was unable to contact her
husband, and after several hours, he tried to find out where
she was and how she was doing. But neither the doctor’s
office nor the hospital would provide him any information.
In fact, the doctor’s office wouldn’t even tell him what
hospital they sent her to or that she had been admitted. He
had to call all of the local hospitals in his area to try to
locate her. The hospitals wouldn’t tell him anything either!
Only after hours of frantically searching for his wife was
he able to convince the doctor’s office to at least tell him
what hospital she was in.
The problem is that HIPPA regulations are being applied
differently from place to place. While HIPAA regulations do
permit the release of general information, some
organizations take the safest route for them and won’t
release any information unless specifically authorized by
the patient. At other institutions however, little has
changed. HIPPA merely brings some conformity to how they’ve
always handled privacy matters.
There are other scenarios in which these regulations could
impact you. For instance, let’s say that you have a 19-year
old child attending college who is involved in an activity
that resulted in their need for medical care. Since a
19-year old is considered an adult, they would have the
power to keep you from being told of their medical condition
or even contacted.
Even though their medical bills might be covered under your
insurance plan, you would not be privy to any of the medical
information. In fact, you might be prevented from even
visiting them if they indicate to the hospital that they
don’t want visitors. One hospital we spoke with said
hospital security guards would prevent such visits when
requested by the patient.
HIPAA impacts the sharing of information if you are single
or in a non-traditional relationship.
Nowadays, many older couples forgo marriage and live
together for financial reasons. Same-sex relationships are
more common. You may be a widow or widower. In any of these
situations, medical providers are no longer required to
provide information to others without proper authorization.
It is important that those in these situations have the
proper documents in place that would allow someone else to
make medical decisions if you are unable.
So what can you do? First, pay attention to the forms you
fill out that authorize the health care provider to release
your information. It is important that you list those that
you would want to know about your condition.
Secondly, it is vital that you have a Medical Power of
Attorney in place which names the person (and alternates)
authorized to make medical decisions on your behalf should
you be incapacitated. Forms granting the release of medical
information don’t provide for someone to make decisions on
your behalf.
Lastly, you may want to add a HIPAA release authorization to
existing estate planning documents such as trusts, living
wills and powers of attorney.
Mr. Voudrie is a Certified Financial Planner, a nationally
syndicated columnist and the President of Legacy Planning
Group, Inc., a Private Wealth Management firm in Johnson
City, TN. He can be reached by calling 1-877-827-1463
toll-free, by email at
jeff@guardingyourwealth.com or by going to
www.guardingyourwealth.com. |
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