Monday, July 13, 2009

Newsmax.com - Dick Morris' Political Insider claims Obama's plan would put in end "of" Medicare!

Posted by Frank Smith at 13.7.09

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Lawsuit Filed Against Stimulus Act

HDM Breaking News, July 6, 2009

A registered nurse in Durham, N.H., has filed a civil suit against three officials of the Obama Administration alleging the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's health information technology provisions unconstitutionally violate the HIPAA privacy rule, Privacy Act and Federal Common Law.

In a complaint filed June 25 and seeking class action status, Beatrice Heghmann names as defendants Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services; Nancy-Ann DeParle, Director of the White House Office of Health Reform; and Charlene Frizzera, Acting Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The suit alleges that under the stimulus law, "the White House Office of Health Reform is in the process of designing a new system for delivering medical care to every person in the United States and HHS is in the process of implementing the new system."

The law also mandates, the suit alleges, that every provider acquire and implement health information technology to create an electronic health record for every person in the nation by 2014. "Since Medicare and Medicaid now cover only about 23% of the population, the Stimulus Act by design effects the privacy of the personal health information for the 65% of the population such as the Plaintiff and all those similarly situated who are covered by private health insurance," according to the lawsuit.

Heghmann in the suit alleges the law violates the privacy rule because the law requires HHS to issue guidance on what constitutes "minimum necessary" disclosure of information under HIPAA. Further, the law also requires HHS to issue guidance on how best to implement the requirements for de-identification of protected health information under HIPAA, according to the suit. "Thus, the Secretary is empowered to totally vitiate (impair) the privacy provisions under HIPAA and link medical information contained in the Plaintiff's personal health record directly to the Plaintiff and all others similarly situated."

The suit also alleges the federal government will unconstitutionally use patient information. "In the Stimulus Act, the Obama Administration budgeted $2,000,000,000 federal taxpayer dollars to fund the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. The Obama Administration also budgeted $20,000,000,000 in federal taxpayer dollars for Investment in Health Information Technology. This technology will be used to deprive the Plaintiff and others of her fundamental right to privacy by requiring that her medical records be released by her health care providers and upon entry into the Health Information Technology maintained under the supervision of the Secretary will be made available without the permission of the Plaintiff to an unknown and potentially unlimited number of persons. Further, this Health Information Technology will be used by the White House Office of Health Reform to monitor, interfere and limit the medical information and medical options provided by the Plaintiff's health care providers in violation of the Plaintiff's fundamental right to personal security."

The lawsuit alleges eight counts of violating the Plaintiff's right to privacy, due process and personal security; and violations of the Privacy Act and Federal Common Law.

The suit, Heghmann et al v. Sebelius et al, was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and assigned to Judge Barbara Jones. The case number is 09-CV-5880. Attorney Robert Heghmann, husband of Beatrice, is representing his wife. Text of the suit soon should be available on the PACER legal database at pacer.gov.

July 14, 2009 at 9:22 PM

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Web Tracking
Online Florist