Federal Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Alleging HIPAA Violates Patients’ Constitutional Rights

A federal judge on June 14 dismissed a lawsuit filed by Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons and three patients charging that privacy regulations under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act "violate constitutional rights by requiring physicians to allow government access to records without patient consent," the Houston Chronicle reports (Ruiz, Houston Chronicle, 6/18). The suit, filed against HHS last August, alleges that the privacy regulations violate the First, Fourth and 10th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, as well as the Paperwork Reduction Act and the Regulatory Flexibility Act (American Health Line, 1/4). U.S. District Judge Sim Lake said that the plaintiffs had not suffered "imminent injury through enforcement of the privacy rule" and "lacked standing to pursue the claims." The regulations require health care providers to obtain written consent from patients in most cases before "using or disclosing certain medical information" and make records available so that HHS can evaluate compliance with the law. Attorney Karen Bryant Tripp, who represents the plaintiffs, said they would appeal (Houston Chronicle, 6/18).