US government is pushing to gain unprecedented access to your medical records – as data protections are weakening
- The U.S. government is seeking unprecedented access to Americans' medical records, raising privacy concerns as data protections weaken.
- The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act provides less protection for health information privacy than many assume and allows sharing or selling of medical records, including to the government.
- Since spring 2025, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has pushed for federal access to medical records to study potential links between vaccines and autism, with officials promising data aggregation and anonymization to protect privacy.
37 Articles
37 Articles
The Conversation
US government is pushing to gain unprecedented access to your medical records – as data protections are weakening
You might assume that what you tell a doctor stays between you, your physician and perhaps your insurer. But the reality is more complicated. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, the federal privacy law that governs health information and is commonly known as HIPAA, is narrower than its reputation suggests. It regulates hospitals, physicians, insurers and their business associates, but not the health data you generate everywh…
US government is pushing to gain unprecedented access to your medical records – as data protections are weakening
by Jennifer D. Oliva, Indiana University, [This article first appeared in The Conversation, republished with permission] You might assume that what you tell a doctor stays between you, your physician and perhaps your insurer. But the reality is more complicated. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, the federal privacy law that governs health information and is commonly known as HIPAA, is narrower than its reputation suggests.…
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