Bloomberg Law reports that the Department of Health and Human Service’s ability to protect health privacy is weakening after Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Trump appointee, invalidated a rule then-president Joe Biden placed which protected individuals seeking reproductive health care. Biden’s rule prohibited medical doctors from sharing any information to individuals investigating those seeking abortion.
Biden’s HIPPA reproductive rights rule faced plenty of backlash and lawsuits for lacking clear application standards when it was first implemented. Wendy Parmet, Northeastern University professor of Law and WGSS affiliated faculty member, believes that the doctrine practically invited the decision made by Judge Kacsmaryk. With this new decision, the HHS will have to be cautious in advancing “controversial” topics if they don’t have a clear mandate backing it up. If this decision stands, the HHS— which once had endless control over health privacy– will struggle to regulate it.
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