Ensuring Patient Access to Healthcare Records Act of 2016
The source supplies the latest action, but no lifecycle stage.
Latest action (8 Dec 2016): Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
What this bill does
S. 3530, the Ensuring Patient Access to Healthcare Records Act of 2016, would amend federal health information technology law (the HITECH Act) to change how "health care clearinghouses"—entities that process health claims, eligibility, and payment data—are treated under HIPAA privacy and security rules. The bill would classify these clearinghouses as "covered entities" rather than "business associates," giving them authority similar to other covered entities to use and disclose protected health information for treatment, payment, operations, research, and public health purposes, provided they meet accreditation and data-accuracy requirements. It would also require the Department of Health and Human Services to develop policies helping patients access their own health data, including claims and outcomes information, and would allow clearinghouses to compile comprehensive, longitudinal patient records upon request, potentially for a fee.
The bill would primarily affect health care clearinghouses, health plans, providers, researchers, and patients enrolled in Medicare or similar insurance programs. Clearinghouses would gain expanded ability to aggregate and analyze data for benchmarking, quality improvement, and clinical trial recruitment, subject to privacy safeguards such as de-identification or data use agreements. Patients would gain new rights to request consolidated records of their own health information. Liability for HIPAA violations arising from these new functions would fall on the clearinghouse rather than the original covered entity that supplied the data.
The bill was introduced in the Senate on December 8, 2016, by Senator Bill Cassidy and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. It did not receive a vote before the end of the 114th Congress and would need to be reintroduced in a later Congress to be considered further.
Plain-English summary generated by Bill100 AI from the official record. Always verify against the source below.
Official summary
Ensuring Patient Access to Healthcare Records Act of 2016
This bill amends the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act to require the Department of Health and Human Services to develop and update policies that enable certain health care clearinghouses, plans, and providers to: (1) provide patients with access to information related to their care; and (2) develop patient-engagement tools, reports, analyses, and presentations that may demonstrate benefit to the taxpayer.
Timeline
8 Dec 2016
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Common questions
- What does S. 3530 do?
- S. 3530, the Ensuring Patient Access to Healthcare Records Act of 2016, would amend federal health information technology law (the HITECH Act) to change how "health care clearinghouses"—entities that process health claims, eligibility, and payment data—are treated under HIPAA privacy and security rules. The bill would classify these clearinghouses as "covered entities" rather than "business associates," giving them authority similar to other covered entities to use and disclose protected health information for treatment, payment, operations, research, and public health purposes, provided they meet accreditation and data-accuracy requirements. It would also require the Department of Health and Human Services to develop policies helping patients access their own health data, including claims and outcomes information, and would allow clearinghouses to compile comprehensive, longitudinal patient records upon request, potentially for a fee. The bill would primarily affect health care clearinghouses, health plans, providers, researchers, and patients enrolled in Medicare or similar insurance programs. Clearinghouses would gain expanded ability to aggregate and analyze data for benchmarking, quality improvement, and clinical trial recruitment, subject to privacy safeguards such as de-identification or data use agreements. Patients would gain new rights to request consolidated records of their own health information. Liability for HIPAA violations arising from these new functions would fall on the clearinghouse rather than the original covered entity that supplied the data. The bill was introduced in the Senate on December 8, 2016, by Senator Bill Cassidy and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. It did not receive a vote before the end of the 114th Congress and would need to be reintroduced in a later Congress to be considered further.
- Has S. 3530 become law?
- The source does not supply a confirmed lifecycle stage for S. 3530. Check the latest action and official source below.
- Who sponsored S. 3530?
- S. 3530 was sponsored by Sen. Cassidy, Bill [R-LA] (R-LA), with 0 cosponsors.
- What's the latest action on S. 3530?
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (8 Dec 2016).
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