Dr. Rand Paul Introduces Legislation to Repeal National Patient ID, Protect Americans’ Medical Privacy
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
November 2, 2021
Contact: Press_Paul@paul.senate.gov, 202-224-4343
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) and U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) introduced the National Patient ID Repeal Act to overturn a dangerous provision of existing law requiring the creation of a “unique health identifier,” also known as a National Patient ID.
U.S. Representative Chip Roy (R-TX-21) introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“As a physician, I know firsthand how much the doctor-patient relationship relies on trust and privacy, which would be undermined by a National Patient ID. Now, more than ever, it is crucial to protect Americans’ genetic information from theft by foreign actors like China, and prevent the government from centralizing patients’ personal health records or interfering with their medical decisions,” said Dr. Paul.
“The federal government has no right to dictate individual medical decisions or gain access to your private medical records,” said Sen. Blackburn. “The existing National Patient ID sets a dangerous precedent for Big Brother to exert even more control over your life, and it is paramount that we prevent the Biden administration from creating it.”
“We thank Sen. Rand Paul for his hard work as a champion against a national patient ID system. Our FreedomWorks community values patient privacy, that’s why we named the National Patient Identifier Repeal Act as our October 2020 Bill of the Month. We urge the House and Senate to consider this legislation and provide a permanent fix to a bipartisan issue that Congress has supported for over two decades,” said Adam Brandon, President of FreedomWorks.
Background:
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) established the statutory authority to create a unique health identifier, a distinct ID code to identify the medical records of every individual, employer, health plan, and health care provider in America.
Dr. Paul’s father, former Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX), introduced language to the Labor-HHS appropriations bill in 1998 to restrict the use of federal funds to develop the identifier, and such a ban has been continually renewed in each Labor-HHS appropriations bill since then.
Earlier this year, however, House and Senate appropriators stripped this critical protection for Americans out of the Labor-HHS appropriations bill. Enacting the bill into law in its current form would open the floodgates for a government-issued ID to be linked with the private medical history of every man, woman, and child in America.
Prior to introducing standalone legislation to repeal the original authority created under HIPAA, Dr. Paul advocated in a letter to Senate appropriators to keep language banning federal funding for the unique health identifier in the proposed Senate version of the Labor-HHS appropriations bill.
You can read Dr. Paul’s National Patient ID Repeal Act, HERE.
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