Another Clinton screwup

[Seadog]

Clinton was noted for his pushing through bills that were dreamed up more for PR than for public benefit. I was reminded of one of these 'executive decrees' lately, when my doctor made me sign a form authorizing them to share my files with the insurance companies and anyone else. I did not have an alternative, because the insurance company would not allow me to get treatment without the authorization. I have confidence enough in my doctor to not get major bent over this, but it made me realize that this just made a bad thing worse.
As it stood, if a doctor abused the patient privacy, the patient had legal recourse to collect for damages. As it stands now, a doctor can tell anyone with impunity about your medical condition and have your permission to do so. It might be argued in court that it was a coerced permission, but by the time the court battle ended, you would be so old that you would have forgotten the original situation.
Any thoughts?

[eliminatedsprinter]

The only people whose privacy he ever cared about was his own and and and and, :confused: wait a minute, I must be able to think of somebody else who's rights he cared about, errr, nope, I guess I can't :( ..

[Super D]

I believe you're referring to HIPAA (health insurance portability and accountability act of 1997), which mainly deals with guaranteeing health insurance to people with health problems. It also deals with patient privacy of records. Without this act, you would be screwed if you had previous health problems (pre-existing) and tried to get new coverage or lost your job. Without it, your doctor and insurance company could freely give your name out to anybody (read drug and insurance companies=telemarketers) on earth. So if you're blaming Clinton for this (I don't even know if he really had a hand in it), be thankfulthat it exists. Doctors face HUGE fines if they don't comply with HIPAA.

[Thunderbutt]

Did congress sign that 1997 bill, or did Clinton do it along?

[Seadog]

Super D, my point is that before, you had a legal recourse if your doctor or insurance company passed on the information. Now they can still pass on the information. You can still be denied coverage for a pre-existing condition. By forcing you to sign a 'release' you have less legal rights than before.
My understanding is that Clinton amended the original act by Presidential decree or some other nonsense to protect his friends in the insurance business. With all the information and misinformation put out, I will profess to being less than an expert on this, but I do know that having to sign my rights away to the insurance company or be denied coverage does not come across as comforting.

[Super D]

Yo Dog, I hear ya'. Insurance companies are a major industry like any other - looking out for their own interests (profits) above all else. It's one of those things - you play by their rules or you don't play at all. I wonder how those socialized Canadians feel about it, eh?

[HOSS]

They probably feel just fine. Their system works and everyone feels fine. Oh yeah, their system doesn`t have the African-American variable. Anything works smoothly minus that.