ADVISORY

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS
Subcommittee on Health

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: (202) 225-3943
March 17, 1998
No. HL-20

In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only. However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.

BACKGROUND:

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) required the Secretary of Health and Human Services to submit to the Congress "detailed recommendations with respect to the privacy of individually identifiable health information." In developing her recommendations, the Secretary was required to consult with the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics and the Attorney General. The Secretary released her report on September 11, 1997, and Congress has until August 1999 to pass legislation to protect individual patient confidentiality. If the Congress does not enact legislation, HIPAA directs the Secretary to issue her own final enforceable regulations by February 2000.

Health care information is used for a variety of purposes including research, disease prevention, quality assurance, and outcomes measurements. In recent years, health care information has moved away from paper records to electronic records. This innovation provides tremendous opportunities for medical advances as well as new challenges for maintaining patient confidentiality. The Administration's recent announcement of a delay in the implementation of the HIPAA administrative simplification provisions underscores the complexity of maintaining confidentiality in an information age.

In announcing the hearing, Chairman Thomas stated: "Our nation has a great history of leadership in medical advances and health care innovation. I have seen, first hand, examples of health care data being used to help in the discovery of new medical techniques and technologies. In addition, outcomes studies and consumer information based on up-to-date health care data can make our nation's health care system better, services more readily available, and care more affordable. However, it is essential that patient confidentiality concerns are addressed while maintaining access to data to promote better health."

FOCUS OF THE HEARING:

The hearing will focus on patient confidentiality from the perspective of the health care consumers, physicians, providers, and researchers.

DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:

Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit at least six (6) single-space legal-size copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in ASCII DOS Text or WordPerfect 5.1 format only, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Tuesday, April 7, 1998, to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Subcommittee on Health office, room 1136 Longworth House Office Building, at least one hour before the hearing begins.

FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:

Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be typed in single space on legal-size paper and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. At the same time written statements are submitted to the Committee, witnesses are now requested to submit their statements on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in ASCII DOS Text or WordPerfect 5.1 format. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.

2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.

4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, full address, a telephone number where the witness or the designated representative may be reached and a topical outline or summary of the comments and recommendations in the full statement. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.

The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.

The Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event (four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to special accommodation needs in general (including availability of Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the Committee as noted above.