Health Information Management

Tennessee officials use HIPAA privacy to shield hearings from media

HIPAA Weekly Advisor, October 24, 2005

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Tennessee state officials cited HIPAA privacy when they refused to disclose the names of people appealing their loss of coverage under TennCare, Tennessee's Medicaid program.

The Tennessee Department of Human Services (DHS) was simply "protecting the privacy of the appellant" as required under the HIPAA guidelines, said DHS spokesperson Michelle Mowery Johnson. While the state formerly issued a blanket denial to media information requests, a new plan will allow access if appellants consent.

Approximately 190,000 adults have lost coverage because of TennCare budget cuts. Less than half have filed for appeal, and only 5,000 have been granted a hearing to contest the loss of coverage, reports The Southern Standard.

Click here to read The Southern Standard article.



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