A federal judge in Texas overturned a Biden administration rule on June 18 prohibiting health care providers from sharing reproductive health care information with law enforcement. The HIPAA Privacy Rule to Support Reproductive Health Care Privacy (PDF) prohibited the use or disclosure of protected health information when it is sought to investigate or impose criminal, civil, or administrative liability on individuals, health care providers, or others who seek, obtain, provide, or facilitate reproductive health care that is lawful under the circumstances in which such health care is provided, or to identify persons for such purpose [refer to Washington Highlights, April 26, 2024].
In Purl v. Department of Health and Human Services (PDF), the plaintiffs sued the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) alleging that the final rule would harm Texas’ investigative abilities into medical care such as abortion, lacks statutory authority, and is arbitrary and capricious. The plaintiffs argued that Congress expressly preserved state investigative authority in the HIPAA statute and, as a result, the HHS may not impose requirements contrary to and not authorized by the HIPAA statute. Specifically, the complaint stated that the final rule unlawfully restricts state officials and law enforcement from obtaining evidence of a crime or other potential violation of state law. “HHS lacks the authority to issue regulations that enact heightened protections for information about politically favored procedures,” District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk stated in his ruling. “The people and their elected representatives remain free to enact their preferred protections for such procedures. And HIPAA and its regulations cannot preempt any state laws that enact ‘more stringent’ protections.”