The Biden administration is once again seeking to undermine states’ rights by drafting a proposal that would modify HIPAA to “better protect the privacy” of women seeking abortions, Bloomberg Law reported Wednesday.
The proposal, called “The Proposed Modifications to the HIPAA Privacy Rule to Support Reproductive Health Care Privacy (RIN o9045-AA20)” by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Civil Rights (OCR), is listed under White House review, which a step before public release. OCR Director Melanie Fontes Rainer did not share the content of the proposed rule with the outlet but said “the Office for Civil Rights has a statutory mandate to ensure nondiscriminatory access to health care.”
“Part of that mission is to promote privacy and protect health information,” she said.
Roger Severino, who led the HHS civil rights office under President Donald Trump, told the outlet the proposal looks like an effort “to twist HIPAA to use it as a bludgeon against the Dobbs decision and interfere with cooperation with law enforcement.”
“‘I suspect what they’re trying to do is say that in pro-life states that cooperating with law enforcement to protect unborn life is a violation of HIPAA,” Severino said. He also noted that HIPAA “defers to state law definitions for things like paternity and guardianship, and that certain states define unborn persons as persons,” the report states.
The proposed rule was reportedly listed under White House review in January “without having previously been disclosed on the Biden administration’s agenda of upcoming regulations and proposals,” the report states.
Severino said that “by all appearances it was deliberate in order to keep it as quiet as possible,” because proclaiming the proposed rule would look like the HHS was trying to keep “medical providers from cooperating with police in states where abortion is restricted.”
Leon Rodriguez, who led the HHS civil rights office under President Barack Obama, contended the HHS is instead “trying to make sure state actions are in compliance with federal law.”
An administration official would not confirm if the proposed rule would codify guidance released by the HHS soon after Dobbs which laid out “what HIPAA calls for from medical providers when a patient’s health data might be of interest to law enforcement,” the report states.