Tag Archives: reproductive healthcare

Biden Administration, Civil Rights, Gender Equity, Health Care, News & Photo Features

FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Announces Actions to Protect Patient Privacy at the Third Meeting of the Task Force on Reproductive Healthcare Access

New Yorkers protest for reproductive rights. The Biden-Harris administration is taking steps to protect the privacy of women seeking reproductive healthcare and their providers. Efforts to protect sensitive health information, including related to reproductive health care, have taken on renewed importance, as states seek to penalize and criminalize health care providers and interfere in deeply personal medical decisions. © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

The White House provided this fact sheet of actions the Biden-Harris Administration is taking to protect patient privacy in the wake of the assault on women’s access to reproductive health care:

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration will announce new actions to safeguard patient privacy at the third meeting of the Task Force on Reproductive Healthcare Access with Vice President Harris. These announcements build on actions that the Administration has taken to protect privacy and access to accurate information in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, as the President directed in his first Executive Order to protect access to reproductive health care, including abortion. Efforts to protect sensitive health information, including related to reproductive health care, have taken on renewed importance, as states seek to penalize and criminalize health care providers and interfere in deeply personal medical decisions.

At the meeting, the Cabinet will discuss their ongoing efforts to defend reproductive rights and support access to reproductive health care more broadly. The Task Force will also discuss updates on the Administration’s response to Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA, as well as efforts to implement the Presidential Memorandum on ensuring safe access to medication abortion, which has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration as safe and effective for over two decades.

Today, the Administration announced actions to:

  • Strengthen Reproductive Health Privacy under HIPAA. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is issuing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to strengthen privacy protections under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). This rule would prohibit doctors, other health care providers, and health plans from disclosing individuals’ protected health information, including information related to reproductive health care, under certain circumstances. Specifically, the rule would prevent an individual’s information from being disclosed to investigate, sue, or prosecute an individual, a health care provider, or a loved one simply because that person sought, obtained, provided, or facilitated legal reproductive health care, including abortion. By safeguarding sensitive information related to reproductive health care, the rule will strengthen patient-provider confidentiality and help health care providers give complete and accurate information to patients.                                              
  • Protect Students’ Health Information. The Department of Education (ED) is issuing guidance to over 20,000 school officials to remind them of their obligations to protect student privacy under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The guidance helps ensure that school officials—including those at federally funded school districts, colleges, and universities—know that, with certain exceptions, they must obtain written consent from eligible students or parents before disclosing personally identifiable information from students’ educational records, which may include student health information. The guidance encourages school officials to consider the importance of student privacy, including health privacy, with respect to disclosing student records. ED is also issuing a know-your-rights resource to help students understand their privacy rights for health records at school.  
  • Support Consumer Privacy. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is launching a new guide for consumers on best practices for protecting their personal data on mobile phones. The guide also explains how existing FCC requirements protect against the disclosure of consumers’ sensitive information, including geolocation data, which can be especially important in the context of accessing reproductive health care. The guide follows a recent Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued by FCC that is aimed at updating and strengthening data breach rules to provide greater protections to personal data. 
  • Safeguard Patients’ Electronic Health Information. HHS is issuing guidance affirming that doctors and other medical providers can take steps to protect patients’ electronic health information, including their information related to reproductive health care. HHS will make clear that patients have the right to ask that their electronic health information generally not be disclosed by their physician, hospital, or other health care provider—including to other health care providers. The guidance also reminds health care providers that HIPAA’s privacy protections continue to apply to patients’ electronic health information.

The Administration also announced related efforts to provide access to accurate information and bolster data related to women’s health more broadly:

  • Leverage Maternal Health Data to Address Disparities. FCC is committing to the swift implementation of the Data Mapping to Save Moms’ Lives Act, which directs FCC, in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to incorporate publicly available data on maternal mortality and morbidity into its Mapping Broadband Health in America platform. This innovation will support women’s health by informing efforts to expand broadband access—including access to telehealth—in areas with poor maternal health outcomes. This builds on the Administration’s work to improve maternal health and address long-standing disparities, including those spotlighted this Black Maternal Health Week. FCC will continue to explore opportunities to improve research, data collection, data analysis, and interpretation in the context of reproductive health care and maternal health outcomes. 
  • Promote Accurate Information About Reproductive Care. HHS is announcing that it will issue a new Notice of Funding Opportunity to establish a safe and secure national hotline to provide referral services to women in need of accurate information about their legal reproductive health care options. The nondirective hotline would provide information to patients served by the Title X family planning program who request information related to prenatal care and delivery; infant care, foster care, or adoption; or pregnancy termination.

Today’s announcements build on previous actions to protect patient privacy and access to accurate information. The Administration has taken action to:

  • Prevent Illegal Use and Sharing of Sensitive Health Information. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has committed to enforcing the law against illegal use and sharing of highly sensitive data, including information related to reproductive health care. Consistent with this commitment, the FTC recently took first-of-its-kind enforcement action against companies for disclosing consumers’ personal health information without permission to Facebook, Google, and others. The FTC has also urged companies to consider that sensitive data is protected by numerous state and federal laws and that claims that data is “anonymous” are often deceptive. 
  • Reinforce Existing Protections under the HIPAA Privacy Rule. Immediately after Dobbs, HHS issued guidance to help ensure doctors and other health care providers and health plans know that, with limited exceptions, they are not required—and in many cases, are not permitted—to disclose individuals’ health information, including to law enforcement. This guidance, which helps protect individuals seeking or receiving reproductive health care, remains in effect while today’s rulemaking is underway. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking noted above would further strengthen privacy protections under the HIPAA Privacy Rule. 
  • Protect Individuals’ Health Information Online. HHS issued a bulletin to affirm that HIPAA’s privacy protections extend to the use of online tools offered by or on behalf of covered entities that collect protected health information through websites and mobile apps. These tools, such as “cookies” on a website, can be used to track online activity and information about website and app users, sometimes in ways that collect or reveal protected health information. This can include information about reproductive health care, such as the location of where an individual sought medical treatment. The bulletin makes clear that health care providers and health plans—as well as many of the entities that these organizations do business with—cannot use online tracking tools or share patient information with third parties in a way that violates HIPAA.
  • Help Consumers Protect Their Personal Data. HHS issued a how-to guide for consumers on steps they can take to make sure they are protecting their personal data on personal cell phones or tablets. HHS also provided tips for protecting individuals’ privacy when using mobile health apps, like period trackers. This resource helps ensure that consumers have the information they need to better protect their health information when it is accessed or stored on their personal cell phones or tablets, which are generally not protected under HIPAA.  
  • Promote the Privacy of Service Members. The Department of Defense issued an updated policy to provide Service members with time and flexibility to make private health care decisions while accounting for the responsibility placed on commanders to meet operational requirements and protect the health and safety of those in their care. This policy standardized the timeframe for Service members to inform their commanders about a pregnancy, generally allowing Service members until up to 20 weeks of pregnancy to notify their commanders of their pregnancy status, with limited exceptions to account for specific military duties, occupational health hazards, and medical conditions. 
  • Provide Access to Accurate Information and Legal Resources. On the day of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, HHS launched ReproductiveRights.gov, which provides timely and accurate information about reproductive rights and access to reproductive health care. This includes know-your-rights information for patients and providers and promotes awareness of and access to family planning services, as well as guidance for how to file a patient privacy or nondiscrimination complaint with its Office for Civil Rights. DOJ also launched justice.gov/reproductive-rights, a webpage that provides a centralized online resource of the Department’s work to protect reproductive freedom under federal law.
Biden Administration, Health Care, News & Photo Features

FACT SHEET:
President Biden Signs Executive Order Protecting Access to Reproductive Health Care Services

New Yorkers protest to protect womens reproductive rights. President Biden has made clear that the only way to secure a woman’s right to choose is for Congress to restore the protections of Roe as federal law. Until then, he has committed to doing everything in his power to defend reproductive rights and protect access to safe and legal abortion. Today, President Biden signed an Executive Order Protecting Access to Reproductive Health Care Services, but stressed the importance and power of voters to secure their rights through the legislators they elect. © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

Immediately following the extremist majority Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade, President Joe Biden declared he would use whatever levers were available to him as President, but much was up to Congress and, because of the decision, state legislatures. “My administration will use all of its appropriate lawful powers,” President Biden said. “But Congress must act.  And with your vote, you can act.  You can have the final word.  This is not over.” Today, President Biden is signing an Executive Order protecting access to reproductive health care services. Here is a fact sheet from the White House:

Two weeks ago, the Supreme Court issued a decision that overturned Roe v. Wade and eliminated a woman’s Constitutional right to choose.  This decision expressly took away a right from the American people that it had recognized for nearly 50 years – a woman’s right to make her own reproductive health care decisions, free from government interference.  Fundamental rights – to privacy, autonomy, freedom, and equality – have been denied to millions of women across the country, with grave implications for their health, lives, and wellbeing. This ruling will disproportionately affect women of color, low-income women, and rural women.
 
President Biden has made clear that the only way to secure a woman’s right to choose is for Congress to restore the protections of Roe as federal law. Until then, he has committed to doing everything in his power to defend reproductive rights and protect access to safe and legal abortion.
 
Today, President Biden signed an Executive Order Protecting Access to Reproductive Health Care Services. This Executive Order builds on the actions his Administration has already taken to defend reproductive rights by:

  • Safeguarding access to reproductive health care services, including abortion and contraception;
     
  • Protecting the privacy of patients and their access to accurate information;
     
  • Promoting the safety and security of patients, providers, and clinics; and
     
  • Coordinating the implementation of Federal efforts to protect reproductive rights and access to health care.

 
SAFEGUARDING ACCESS TO REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE SERVICES
 
The President has directed the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to take the following actions and submit a report to him within 30 days on efforts to:

  • Protect Access to Medication Abortion.  HHS will take additional action to protect and expand access to abortion care, including access to medication that the FDA approved as safe and effective over twenty years ago. These actions will build on the steps the Secretary of HHS has already taken at the President’s direction following the decision to ensure that medication abortion is as widely accessible as possible.
     
  • Ensure Emergency Medical Care.  HHS will take steps to ensure all patients – including pregnant women and those experiencing pregnancy loss – have access to the full rights and protections for emergency medical care afforded under the law, including by considering updates to current guidance that clarify physician responsibilities and protections under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). 
     
  • Protect Access to Contraception.  HHS will take additional actions to expand access to the full range of reproductive health services, including family planning services and providers, such as access to emergency contraception and long-acting reversible contraception like intrauterine devices (IUDs).  In all fifty states and the District of Columbia, the Affordable Care Act guarantees coverage of women’s preventive services, including free birth control and contraceptive counseling, for individuals and covered dependents. The Secretary of HHS has already directed the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to take every legally available step to ensure patient access to family planning care and to protect family planning providers.
     
  • Launch Outreach and Public Education Efforts.  HHS will increase outreach and public education efforts regarding access to reproductive health care services—including abortion—to ensure that Americans have access to reliable and accurate information about their rights and access to care.
     
  • Convene Volunteer Lawyers.  The Attorney General and the White House Counsel will convene private pro bono attorneys, bar associations, and public interest organizations to encourage robust legal representation of patients, providers, and third parties lawfully seeking or offering reproductive health care services throughout the country.  Such representation could include protecting the right to travel out of state to seek medical care. Immediately following the Supreme Court decision, the President announced his Administration’s position that Americans must remain free to travel safely to another state to seek the care they need, as the Attorney General made clear in his statement, and his commitment to fighting any attack by a state or local official who attempts to interfere with women exercising this right.

PROTECTING PATIENT PRIVACY AND ACCESS TO ACCURATE INFORMATION
 
The President’s Executive Order takes additional steps to protect patient privacy, including by addressing the transfer and sales of sensitive health-related data, combatting digital surveillance related to reproductive health care services, and protecting people seeking reproductive health care from inaccurate information, fraudulent schemes, or deceptive practices.  The Executive Order will:

  • Protect Consumers from Privacy Violations and Fraudulent and Deceptive Practices.  The President has asked the Chair of the Federal Trade Commission to consider taking steps to protect consumers’ privacy when seeking information about and provision of reproductive health care services.  The President also has directed the Secretary of HHS, in consultation with the Attorney General and Chair of the FTC, to consider options to address deceptive or fraudulent practices, including online, and protect access to accurate information.
  • Protect Sensitive Health Information.  HHS will consider additional actions, including under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), to better protect sensitive information related to reproductive health care. The Secretary of HHS has already directed the HHS Office for Civil Rights to take initial steps to ensure patient privacy and nondiscrimination of patients, as well as providers who provide reproductive health care, including by:
     
    • Issuing new guidance to address how the HIPAA Privacy Rule protects the privacy of individuals’ protected health information, including information related to reproductive health care. The guidance helps ensure doctors and other medical providers and health plans know that, with limited exceptions, they are not required – and in many cases, are not permitted – to disclose patients’ private information, including to law enforcement. 
       
    • Issuing a how-to guide for consumers on steps they can take to make sure they’re protecting their personal data on mobile apps.

PROMOTING SAFETY AND SECURITY
 
The Executive Order addresses the heightened risk related to seeking and providing reproductive health care and will:

  • Protect Patients, Providers, and Clinics.  The Administration will ensure the safety of patients, providers, and third parties, and to protect the security of other entities that are providing, dispensing, or delivering reproductive health care services.  This charge includes efforts to protect mobile clinics, which have been deployed to borders to offer care for out-of-state patients. 

COORDINATING IMPLEMENTATION EFFORTS
 
To ensure the Federal government takes a swift and coordinated approach to addressing reproductive rights and protecting access to reproductive health care, the President’s Executive Order will:

  • Establish an Interagency Task Force.  The President has directed HHS and the White House Gender Policy Council to establish and lead an interagency Task Force on Reproductive Health Care Access, responsible for coordinating Federal interagency policymaking and program development.  This Task Force will also include the Attorney General.  In addition, the Attorney General will provide technical assistance to states affording legal protection to out-of-state patients as well as providers who offer legal reproductive health care. 

EXECUTIVE ORDER BUILDS ON ADMINISTRATION’S ACTIONS TO PROTECT ACCESS TO REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE
 
In addition to the actions announced today, the Biden-Harris Administration has taken the following steps to protect access to reproductive health care and defend reproductive rights in the wake of the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs.  On the day of the decision, the President strongly denounced the decision as an affront to women’s fundamental rights and the right to choose In addition to action mentioned above, the Biden-Harris Administration is:

  • Supporting Providers and Clinics.  The Secretary of HHS directed all HHS agencies to ensure that all HHS-funded providers and clinics have appropriate training and resources to handle family planning needs, and announced nearly $3 million in new funding to bolster training and technical assistance for the nationwide network of Title X family planning providers.
     
  • Promoting Access to Accurate Information.  On the day of the Supreme Court’s decision, HHS launched ReproductiveRights.gov, which provides timely and accurate information about reproductive rights and access to reproductive health care.  This includes know-your-rights information for patients and providers and promoting awareness of and access to family planning services, as well as guidance for how to file a patient privacy or nondiscrimination complaint with its Office for Civil Rights. 
     
  • Providing Leave for Federal Workers Traveling for Medical Care.  The Office of Personnel Management issued guidance affirming that paid sick leave can be taken to cover absences for travel to obtain reproductive health care.
     
  • Protecting Access to Reproductive Health Care Services for Service members, DoD Civilians, and Military Families.  The Department of Defense (DoD) issued a memo to the Force, DoD civilians and military families on ensuring access to essential women’s health care services. The memo reiterates that the Department will continue to provide seamless access to reproductive healthcare for military and civilian patients, as permitted by federal law.  Military providers will continue to fulfill their duty to care for Service members, military dependents and civilian personnel who require pregnancy termination in the cases of rape, incest, or to protect the life of the mother.

For up-to-date information on your right to access reproductive health care, visit www.reproductiverights.gov