Open Letter: New Rules Give Government Access to Your Medical Records

Open Letter: New Rules Give Government Access to Your Medical Records

Christopher Ruddy
Tuesday, March 20, 2001

An Urgent Letter From Christopher Ruddy
Editor, NewsMax.com

Dear Fellow American:

I am writing to you about an urgent threat to your personal medical records.

In a matter of just weeks, by April 14, Secretary of Health & Human Services Tommy Thompson will decide whether new federal rules – imposed by Bill Clinton by executive order in the last weeks of his administration – will go into effect.

These outrageous rules will give millions of government bureaucrats, clerks in insurance companies, HMOs and even drug marketing companies access to your confidential medical records without your permission.

If these regulations go into effect, you can kiss your medical privacy goodbye.

NewsMax.com has an emergency petition you can sign to prevent this invasion of your privacy.

Under the new regulations, your medical records must be turned over to the government, where they will be kept on file permanently – in effect creating a lifetime government medical history of every American.

Let me explain briefly how these new regulations came about.

In the closing days of the Clinton administration, Bill Clinton sneaked into the Federal Register – over the Christmas holiday when no one was paying attention – over 368 pages of new federal rules regarding the privacy of your medical records.

In true Orwellian fashion, in the name of "protecting your privacy," Clinton abolished the privacy from government of all medical records.

Here is what the new Clinton rules would mean for you:

Dozens of government agencies and tens of thousands of bureaucrats will have access to your medical files – even if you paid for your services.

The government will have full access to all electronically stored medical records – including the private notes of psychiatrists.

Without your consent, government can release your medical records to others, including insurance companies, drug manufacturers and other "third parties" – all without your consent!

Your DNA code will be registered with the government and could eventually be incorporated into a national ID card.

Whether you like it or not, you will be assigned a "unique health identifier," which will be used to track your medical history from birth to death.

If you try to block government access to your medical files, your doctor can be fined or even ordered by government agents to refuse to provide you with medical care. If you demand that your doctor not share your files without your permission, you can be refused medical treatment.

These new Clinton "medical privacy" regulations are not new. Remember Hillary’s failed health care plan? That plan tried to gain government access to your medical records as well.

But the Clintons didn't give up. At the last minute they underhandedly tried to make into law what Congress and the people said "NO" to.

If they are not stopped soon, at the push of a button IRS agents, the DEA, local police, insurance companies and others will have access to every detail of your medical history and the medical history of every member of your family.

You can join NewsMax.com in fighting these regulations by signing our petition.

Government bureaucrats and police will know if anyone in your family has ever had a drinking problem, used illegal drugs, had an abortion, been treated by a psychiatrist, suffered from impotence or a sexually transmitted disease or some other embarrassing medical condition.

Imagine if a nosy neighbor who was a government official wanted to do some snooping on you. We also know how easily government officials and others "leak" confidential information – you could be a target.

The new "no privacy" laws will also destroy trust between you and your doctor.

The new "no privacy" regulations sound like something you would expect in Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union. But unless we act IMMEDIATELY, in less than 30 days they will be the law of the land in America.

In just a few weeks, the comment period expires and President Bush's new secretary of Health and Human Services, Tommy Thompson, says he will then make his final decision. There is enormous pressure on Thompson by big insurance companies and HMOs to keep the Clinton rules – and sadly the Bush administration has said nothing to indicate that it will block Clinton's rules.

So you have very little time to act if you wish to preserve your medical privacy.

NewsMax is fighting to protect your medical records.

You might think that the mainstream media would be shouting as loudly as possible about this huge and urgent threat to your medical privacy. But the shocking reality is that liberal media LOVE the idea of government control of your health care – including unlimited government access to your medical records.

That's why you haven't heard a word about it in your local newspaper.

The big media have kept the lid on the fact that the American Association of Physicians and Surgeons(AAPS), one of the nation’s most respected organizations of doctors, has sent an urgent advisory to their membership and the press warning them about the dangers of the new Clinton rules.

Fortunately, the establishment media are no longer the only game in town. Click here to bypass the major media and let Congress know how you feel.

NewsMax.com, which I head, has become the leading conservative online news agency in America. We also publish a nationally recognized monthly magazine.

You've heard about us on programs like "Rush Limbaugh," "Hannity & Colmes," "The O'Reilly Report" and Fox News. Nationally syndicated radio host Michael Reagan says NewsMax is his favorite online news agency.

NewsMax.com is leading the fight to preserve your medical privacy and to stop the new Clinton "no privacy" regulations and other threats to your freedom, and we urgently need your help.

Although NewsMax reaches many, because of the big media news blackout and the very short time we have left, we are definitely fighting an uphill battle.

We urgently need your help to stop the Clinton "no-privacy" laws by alerting the great majority of the American people who have heard nothing about them. If enough Americans can be informed quickly, we can still stop the Clinton rules before your medical privacy is eliminated.

Here is what you can do NOW to protect your medical records:

FIRST, file an urgent petition with Secretary Thompson, President Bush and every member of Congress.

We have created a special program where we can blast all of Washington with hard copies of your petition, which we will hand-deliver to Secretary Thompson and every member of Congress.

This effort is taken more seriously by politicians than e-mails and phone calls – although those help too and you should use them as well.

SECOND, help us launch our national emergency awareness campaign, "Protect Medical Privacy," by helping us buy ads that will appear in major newspapers throughout America, on major Internet sites, and – if we receive enough support – on scores of radio stations.

We have very little time left and we urgently need your help.

Please fill out our Emergency Response Form and Petition today.

Also, please contribute what you can to our "Protect Medical Privacy" campaign so we can reach millions of Americans in the next few weeks and protect your medical records.

Thank you.

Yours for America,

Christopher Ruddy
President, NewsMax.com

You can help us stop these new rules by going to Response page.

PS: Our efforts have already gotten some significant support. Dr. Miguel Faria, editor of the Medical Sentinel, the Journal of the American Association of Physicians and Surgeons, says, "NewsMax.com is doing vital work to expose Bill Clinton's invasion of your medical privacy. Make sure your voice is heard by Congress, make sure your medical records remain confidential and help NewsMax inform America about this vital issue."

Sign NewsMax.com's emergency petition to prevent this invasion of your privacy.