HIPAA Privacy Rule Upheld in District Court

OPEN MINDS, The Behavioral Health & Social Service Industry Analyst Industry News A federal district judge in Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) on April 2, 2004, dismissed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability (HIPAA) privacy rule. The suit, filed a year ago against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), alleged the rule unconstitutionally grants insurance companies, employers, and others access to identifiable health information without patient consent. The suit asked the court to declare void the August 2002 amendments to the privacy rule that, among other things, eliminated the requirement of patient consent . . .