Capitol Beat
Monday, January 13th, 2003 Catastrophe Legislation & Regulation Liability Litigation PropertyThe U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has issued a final medical privacy rule designed to protect the use of individually-identifiable health information by health plans, health care clearinghouses, and certain health care providers. Since its publication in December 2000, the rule has undergone modifications that would affect the workers’ compensation industry. The original rule required covered entities to disclose to insurers only the amount of medical information deemed by the provider to be “minimally necessary” in workers’ compensation cases. Insurers expressed concern that the rule could have discouraged medical providers from providing sufficient information to process workers’ compensation claims. Insurers and industry trade groups lobbied HHS to exempt workers’ compensation from the requirements.
