What is HIPAA?

HIPAA is a federal law that was enacted by congress to protect patient’s sensitive health information.

HIPAA rights have been brought into question in the pandemic with some establishments now requiring vaccination status.

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HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability ActCredit: Getty What is HIPAA?

HIPAA, or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, is a federal law that required the creation of national standards to protect sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without the patient’s consent or knowledge.

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued the HIPAA Privacy Rule to implement the requirements of HIPAA.

A major goal of the Privacy Rule is to ensure that individuals’ health information is properly protected while allowing the flow of health information needed to provide and promote high quality health care and to protect the public’s health and well-being.

HIPAA was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on August 21, 1996.

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HIPAA protects sensitive patient informationCredit: Getty What did Marjorie Taylor Greene say about HIPAA?

On July 20, when asked by a CBS journalist about her vaccination status, Greene refused to answer the question.

She said: “Well, your first question is in violation of my HIPAA rights. You see, with HIPAA rights, we don’t have to reveal our medical records, and that also involves our vaccine records.”

The reporter did not press Greene on her answer regarding HIPAA and moved on to his second question.

On July 19, the conservative congresswoman was hit with a 12-hour suspension from Twitter after posting a tweet falsely claiming Covid-19 is “not dangerous” for people who are not obese or under the age of 65.

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Representative Marjorie Taylor GreeneCredit: AP

In a separate tweet, Greene said that “defeating obesity” would protect people against coronavirus complications and death.

Greene has previously called on Americans to reject having the Covid-19 vaccine and used the phrase “just say no,” a reference to former President Ronald Reagan’s war on drugs.

In a July 11 tweet, Greene said: “Thousands of people are reporting very serious life-changing vaccine side effects from taking covid vaccines.

The tweet was soon labeled as “misleading” by Twitter, which then advised people to see what health officials had to say about vaccines.

Early in May 2021, Greene mentioned her HIPAA rights again after she claimed “mentally ill” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi forced “reps to wear masks.”

“This woman is mentally ill,” she claimed. “You know, we can look back in a time in history where people were told to wear a gold star and they were definitely treated [as] second-class citizens.”

“[She’s] forcing us to wear masks, abusing our individual freedoms, demanding that members of Congress get the Covid vaccine, which is still not approved by the FDA by the way.

“And you can’t even demand to know people’s private medical records. So our vaccine history is none of her business. As a matter of fact, it’s a violation of our HIPAA rights for her to demand to know.”