Employers and HIPAA

[abbey1227]

Yahoo News
HIPAA and COVID vaccines: What Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott get wrong
Chloe Xiang·Reporter   Tue, July 27, 2021, 2:54 PM

With misinformation on the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine keeping millions of Americans from getting inoculated, an erroneous defense has been used to deflect questions about who has received a shot so far: that HIPAA privacy regulations outlaw such inquiries.

In a press conference on Tuesday, Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., was asked whether she had been vaccinated. In response, she replied that the question was a “violation of my HIPAA rights.” HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, was signed into law in 1996 by President Bill Clinton amid a nationwide push to digitize medical records.

“You see, with HIPAA rights, we don’t have to reveal our medical records, and that also involves our vaccine records,” Greene continued.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., speaks to the media about her suspended accounts on Twitter, on Capitol Hill on July 20.

Greene has been an outspoken opponent of vaccines and masks, especially if they are mandated by schools, businesses or governments. She was suspended from Twitter last Monday for her statement that COVID-19 is not dangerous for people unless they are obese or over the age of 65, and she has been outspoken in her belief that proof of vaccination, or vaccine passports, should be illegal.

Greene’s citation of HIPAA, critics say, continues her pattern of spreading health misinformation.

www.yahoo.com/news/hipaa-and-covid-vaccines-what-rep-marjorie-taylor-green-and-cowboys-quarterback-dak-prescott-get-wrong-195447388.html

In its privacy rule, HIPAA does make it illegal for certain people and organizations — including health care providers, insurers, health care clearinghouses and their business associates — to share a patient’s medical records without prior consent.

The law does not, however, prohibit employers, stores, journalists or other categories of individuals who are not involved in health care from asking for health information.

“I think that the major thing for people to understand with regard to HIPAA is that it’s very specific,” Ankit Shah, a pediatrician and lecturer at the University of Southern California, told the Los Angeles Times. “Health care entities have your information and are prohibited from sharing it without your consent. That’s it. That’s HIPAA.”

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OH! Let's kick this door wide open! "Hey, before we agree to hire you......and/or continue to employ you.....are you using any birth control? Plan on having kids?.....Use a breathing machine at night? Any allergies?  Do you have any history of disease in the family? Have you called in sick very often (under penalty of firing for dishonesty)? You're not a Jehovah's Witness or anti-vaxxer, are ya?"

[Prometheus]

Jul 28, 2021 13:39:33 GMT abbey1227 said:

Yahoo News
HIPAA and COVID vaccines: What Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott get wrong
Chloe Xiang·Reporter   Tue, July 27, 2021, 2:54 PM

With misinformation on the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine keeping millions of Americans from getting inoculated, an erroneous defense has been used to deflect questions about who has received a shot so far: that HIPAA privacy regulations outlaw such inquiries.

In a press conference on Tuesday, Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., was asked whether she had been vaccinated. In response, she replied that the question was a “violation of my HIPAA rights.” HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, was signed into law in 1996 by President Bill Clinton amid a nationwide push to digitize medical records.

“You see, with HIPAA rights, we don’t have to reveal our medical records, and that also involves our vaccine records,” Greene continued.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., speaks to the media about her suspended accounts on Twitter, on Capitol Hill on July 20.

Greene has been an outspoken opponent of vaccines and masks, especially if they are mandated by schools, businesses or governments. She was suspended from Twitter last Monday for her statement that COVID-19 is not dangerous for people unless they are obese or over the age of 65, and she has been outspoken in her belief that proof of vaccination, or vaccine passports, should be illegal.

Greene’s citation of HIPAA, critics say, continues her pattern of spreading health misinformation.

www.yahoo.com/news/hipaa-and-covid-vaccines-what-rep-marjorie-taylor-green-and-cowboys-quarterback-dak-prescott-get-wrong-195447388.html

In its privacy rule, HIPAA does make it illegal for certain people and organizations — including health care providers, insurers, health care clearinghouses and their business associates — to share a patient’s medical records without prior consent.

The law does not, however, prohibit employers, stores, journalists or other categories of individuals who are not involved in health care from asking for health information.

“I think that the major thing for people to understand with regard to HIPAA is that it’s very specific,” Ankit Shah, a pediatrician and lecturer at the University of Southern California, told the Los Angeles Times. “Health care entities have your information and are prohibited from sharing it without your consent. That’s it. That’s HIPAA.”

===================================================================

OH! Let's kick this door wide open! "Hey, before we agree to hire you......and/or continue to employ you.....are you using any birth control? Plan on having kids?.....Use a breathing machine at night? Any allergies?  Do you have any history of disease in the family? Have you called in sick very often (under penalty of firing for dishonesty)? You're not a Jehovah's Witness or anti-vaxxer, are ya?"

Using birth control doesn't affect the health or well-being of your co-workers or customers. Ditto having kids, genetic diseases, your religion, or CPAP machines.

A potential employee having allergies is kind of important if you're running a florist shop, don't you think?

If you want to know work history call the former employers.

Being anti-vax only matters if the business requires that employees be vaccinated. If you were being considered for a posting in India, the vaccination question looms large and is perfectly acceptable under HIPAA.