Shalala corrects Spicer on HIPAA: ‘I should know, I wrote it’

Rep. Donna ShalalaDonna Edna ShalalaCalls for COVID-19 tests at Capitol grow after Trump tests positive Women of color flex political might On The Money: Anxious Democrats push for vote on COVID-19 aid | Pelosi, Mnuchin ready to restart talks | Weekly jobless claims increase | Senate treads close to shutdown deadline MORE (D-Fla.) corrected former White House press secretary Sean SpicerSean Michael SpicerKellyanne Conway to leave White House at end of month Pro-Trump duo Diamond and Silk launch new program on Newsmax TV The Hill’s 12:30 Report – Presented by Facebook – Supreme Court’s unanimous decision on the Electoral College MORE on Twitter on Monday after he suggested that naming a White House staffer who tested positive for coronavirus violates the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

“It’s one thing to report an additional staffer in the White House has tested positive but revealing their name seems like a violation of HIPPA,” Spicer tweeted in response to a report that Chad Gilmartin, an aide to press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, had tested positive.

“That’s not how HIPAA works,” Shalala tweeted in response. “I should know…I wrote it.”

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That’s not how HIPAA works.

I should know…I wrote it. https://t.co/tgwxH8EW7A

— Rep. Donna E. Shalala (@RepShalala) October 5, 2020

Shalala served as secretary of Health and Human Services under former-President Clinton from 1993 to 2001.

HIPAA, which passed in 1996, bars the release of sensitive medical information without a patient’s consent.

Shalala’s tweet came the same day that White House doctor Sean Conley cited HIPAA to say he could not go into further detail about President TrumpDonald John TrumpQuestions remain unanswered as White House casts upbeat outlook on Trump’s COVID-19 fight White House staffers get email saying to stay home if they experience coronavirus symptoms White House says ‘appropriate precautions’ were taken for Trump’s outing to see supporters MORE’s progress at Walter Reed Medical Center over his treatment for COVID-19.

McEnany and two of her press aides are the latest people in Trump’s orbit to announce that they have tested positive for the coronavirus, following his campaign manager and three GOP senators, among others.