FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Contact: (202) 225-3943
February 11, 2000
No. HL-13
Congressman Bill Thomas (R-CA), Chairman, Subcommittee on Health of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the Administration's proposed regulations regarding privacy of individually identifiable health information. The hearing will take place on Thursday, February 17, 2000, in the main Committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 10:00 a.m.
In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only. The Subcommittee will receive testimony from a representative of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and from a variety of private sector witnesses representing different perspectives from within the health care system. 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:
Congress addressed the issue of medical record confidentiality in 1996 when it passed administrative simplification requirements for electronic health transactions as part of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) (P.L. 104-191). HIPAA required the Secretary of HHS to make recommendations to Congress about how to better protect the confidentiality of personal health information that is transmitted electronically. The Secretary submitted her recommendations to Congress in September of 1997. Additionally, Congress granted the Secretary the authority to draft regulations if a privacy law was not enacted by August 21, 1999. On November 3, 1999, HHS published a Notice of Proposed Rule Making for "Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information." The comment period for this ruling was extended until February 17, 2000, and a final ruling will follow. Generally, covered entities must comply with these regulations no later than 24 months following the effective date of the final rule.
The proposed rule establishes standards to protect the privacy of individually identifiable health information maintained or transmitted electronically in connection with one of the mandated electronic transaction standards established by HIPAA. Since the release of the proposed ruling, many provider groups, health care organizations, and privacy advocates have expressed various concerns about different interpretations of the regulation, and its potential implications. As a result, thousands of comments are expected to be submitted on the regulation by the end of the comment period.
In announcing the hearing, Chairman Thomas stated: "Protecting the confidentiality of personal health information is critical to ensuring patient confidence in our health care system. The Secretary has taken on a monumental task. She has tried to lay out a comprehensive framework for regulating the flow of virtually all health care information, while still allowing data to be used to further research that will improve patient care. This hearing is intended to assist us in determining whether the regulation will ultimately prove to be workable or whether legislation might be necessary."
FOCUS OF THE HEARING:
The hearing will focus on various aspects of the Department's proposed confidentiality regulation, and examine what implications the rule presents for Medicare and the private health sector.
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 six (6) single-spaced copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or MS Word format, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Thursday, March 2, 2000, 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, by close of business the day before the hearing.
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 submitted on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or MS Word format, typed in single space and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. 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, company, address, telephone and fax numbers where the witness or the designated representative may be reached. 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.