NEGATIVE – MEDICAL – DISADVANTAGES 265

NEGATIVE — MEDICAL — DISADVANTAGES 265

PRIVACY CONTROLS DAMAGE THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY

MEDICAL PRIVACY CONTROLS SERIOUSLY DAMAGE THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY

Richard A. Epstein National Review, September 27, 1999, TITLE: Privacy, Please; Thinking about a troublesome concept. // acs-VT2001

Take the simplest case: insurance. The traditional common-law view was that the potential insured was under a duty to volunteer all information material to the insurer's decision to take or to price the risk. Information was power, and the law helped to equalize the advantage possessed by the insured. Modern privacy advocates want to do a fast 180-degree turn on this question, by forbidding insurers to ask about medical conditions material to the risk, such as AIDS, a genetic predisposition to breast cancer, and preexisting medical conditions. The deliberate suppression of information leads to a large, implicit transfer of wealth: An expected $ 10,000 loss is covered for $ 500, forcing the employer or other insured parties to pay a huge surcharge. Some will simply decide that it is better to do without insurance altogether than to pay the subsidy. Others will seek to tailor the coverage in ways that minimize their outsized exposure. These countermeasures have at best fitful success, and often invite a tough regulatory response that tightens the noose further. It should come as no surprise that the number of people without health insurance has risen over the past generation.

MEDICAL PLANS NEED MEDICAL RECORD DATA TO PROVIDE QUALITY COVERAGE

Patrick G. Hays, chief executive officer and president of Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. USA TODAY, July 26, 1999, SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 14A TITLE: Privacy proposals too restrictive // acs-EE2001

Your health plans need access to medical records in order to pay claims, guard against fraud and abuse, and conduct quality-assurance activities. There is no need for a new signature each time these day-to-day operations take place. Any federal regulation to protect confidentiality must be practical, simple and balanced enough to allow these routine processes without further bureaucracy.

MEDICAL RECORD CONFIDENTIALITY CONTROLS RISK CONFUSION AND LOSS OF COVERAGE

The confidentiality proposals on Capitol Hill do not strike a balance. While well-intended, they would result in a confusing paperwork nightmare for consumers. Americans would receive new forms that easily could get lost or confused with "junk mail." Missing paperwork could cause disruptions in coverage -- or, in the worst case, accidental cancellation of a health-plan contract.

NO ACCESS TO MEDICAL RECORDS MEANS INSURANCE COMPANIES CANNOT WORK FOR BETTER MEDICAL CARE, AND 95% OF PEOPLE WANT THEM TO

Amy Goldstein, The Washington Post, August 23, 1999, SECTION: A SECTION; Pg. A01 TITLE: Long Reach Into Patients' Privacy; New Uses of Data Illustrate Potential Benefits, Hazards // acs-EE2001

"If society were to decide that we could never have access to a patient's records, that would be okay, as long as society doesn't also then hold us responsible for . . . helping people get better care," said Arthur Leibowitz, Aetna U.S. Healthcare's chief medical officer, who said 95 percent of the patients the company contacts want its help in managing their ailments.