FEMA refuses to disclose information on elderly displaced by hurricane
HIPAA Weekly Advisor, December 20, 2004
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Assistance efforts by the Southwest Florida Area Agency on Aging have done little to get elderly displaced by Hurricane Charley the meals, transportation, and care they need. And it's not due to lack of trying. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) refuses to disclose the locations of these people, making it nearly impossible to provide aid.
Officials at FEMA said they don't want to stand in the way of this assistance. However, they claim that HIPAA privacy regulations prohibit them from releasing information on the applications these people filled out-including names and addresses-even to another government body, according to the Associated Press (AP).
FEMA did, however, make a couple of concessions. It agreed to release information for elderly living in temporary FEMA housing who waive their privacy rights, reported the AP. It also offered to post information on the homes of people in the temporary trailer parks.
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