Department of Health and Human Services

EPIC Commends Proposed HIPAA Reproductive Health Safeguards, Calls on HHS to Further Strengthen Rule

In comments to the Department of Health and Human Services, EPIC praised HHS for proposing new reproductive health safeguards for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule and called on the agency to expand those protections.

• Data Protection

• Health Privacy

• Updates

Comments of EPIC on HHS Proposed Rulemaking to Modify HIPAA Privacy Rule to Support Reproductive Health Care Privacy

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) submits these comments in response to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)’s April 17, 2023 request for comment on its notice of proposed rulemaking to modify disclosure standards for protected health information under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act).[1] The proposed modifications would limit uses and disclosures of Protected Health Information (PHI) where the information relates to lawfully obtained reproductive health care.[2] EPIC commends HHS for taking meaningful steps to protect the privacy of people’s reproductive health information, but we recommend that the agency further strengthen the rule to ensure that these protections are not easily sidestepped, to raise the baseline level of protection for all health data to the constitutional standard, and to specifically overrule state mandatory reporting laws that would otherwise undermine the proposed rule. 

• Data Protection

• Health Privacy

• Comments

EPIC, Coalition Urge HHS to Abandon Database Tracking HIV PrEP Users

Rights urged the agency to reverse plans that would require recipients of free HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) to submit information to a database maintained by HHS.

• Data Protection

• Government Databases

• Health Privacy

• Surveillance Oversight

• Updates

Comments of EPIC, CHLP, PrEP4All, and Patient Privacy Rights to HHS on HIV PrEP Database SoRN

• Data Protection

• Government Databases

• Health Privacy

• Surveillance Oversight

• APA Comments

Modifications to the HIPAA Privacy Rule to Support, and Remove Barriers to, Coordinated Care and Individual Engagement

• Data Protection

• Health Privacy

• APA Comments