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Supreme Court refuses to hear HIPAA consent case

Physician Practice Advisor, October 11, 2006

The United States Supreme Court on October 2 refused to hear Citizens for Health v. Michael O. Leavitt, a HIPAA privacy case that could have reinstated the privacy rule's consent requirement.

Plaintiffs, including the Patient Privacy Rights Foundation and nine other organizations, had argued that eliminating the consent requirement (as the amended privacy rule did) violated several constitutional rights as well as Congress' intent under the HIPAA law. The groups appealed a district court's original ruling that there were no such violations because covered entities could still instate a consent requirement privately.

According to a statement on the Patient Privacy Rights Foundation's Web site, the plaintiffs will continue to seek a consent requirement through legislation.

Click here to visit the Patient Privacy Rights Foundation Web site.

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