Bill Bennett: “today I introduce the Medical Information Protection Act of 1998. I know it is late in the 105th Congress and that there…”

“today I introduce the Medical Information Protection Act of 1998. I know it is late in the 105th Congress and that there will not be time to give this legislation full consideration. However, I feel strongly about this issue and did not want this session to end without the introduction of this legislation. I feel that great progress has been made and that the legislation that I am introducing addresses many of the concerns that have been expressed. I will include letters and statements of support for the Record from the following groups: American Medical Informatics Association; Joint Healthcare Information Technology Alliance; Intermountain Health Care; Premier Institute; Association of American Medical Colleges; American Health Information Management Association; Healthcare Leadership Council; Federation of American Health Systems; American Hospital Association and Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. It is my intention to reintroduce this legislation early in the 106th Congress and seek for its passage. Most individuals wrongly assume that their personal health information is protected under federal law. It is not. Federal law protects the confidentiality of our video rental records, and federal law ensures us access to information about us such as our credit history. However, there is no current federal law which will protect the confidentiality of our medical information and ensure us access to our own medical information.”