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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 11 of 11. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by housecat2075 on July 29, 2002, at 2:06:45
I recently got a new job. my new insurance just gives me the creeeps, on a RX claim or mail order form, it says the following
"i authorize the release of information [what information?] to your plan sponsor, plan admin, health care providers [my other docs?], and employer??????"
do i have no legal rights to modify this, i honestly can't believe that something like this can show up on an RX claim form, and i scoured the net and have found almsost nothing on what rights we have (if any) to limit information sharing by our insurance companies to only what is absolutely necessary.i was going to x out there clause and rewrite it saying "with prior notification of the insured" or "as is related directly to this claim"
how can these companies operate like this???
i am really pisssed, its 3 AM, i have work tommorow, and now i have to worry about my employer and all my doctors knowing about every single med i take, i cant believe this, say it aint so, say i can do something!!!! even overseas, right now prices of the meds i take are just too high.
someone tell me i have a right to limit them on how they share information. if not i cant believe that this is going on without most ppl knowing or caring
arggghhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :(
Posted by housecat2075 on July 29, 2002, at 7:33:57
In reply to med insrnc privacy - is it really this bad??, posted by housecat2075 on July 29, 2002, at 2:06:45
i think this could have scary future ramifications. plz comments or help
Posted by whitewave on July 29, 2002, at 16:27:35
In reply to Nobody cares?????, posted by housecat2075 on July 29, 2002, at 7:33:57
> i think this could have scary future ramifications. plz comments or help
I think it is really F8cked up too. Already companies, organizations and governments have too much info about us. I can support you in f8ckedupedness of it, but for legal/rights info it might be better to contact NAMI or a human rights org taht would know more about that.
Posted by LostBoyinNC1 on July 29, 2002, at 19:38:11
In reply to med insrnc privacy - is it really this bad??, posted by housecat2075 on July 29, 2002, at 2:06:45
> I recently got a new job. my new insurance just gives me the creeeps, on a RX claim or mail order form, it says the following
>
> "i authorize the release of information [what information?] to your plan sponsor, plan admin, health care providers [my other docs?], and employer??????"
>
>
> do i have no legal rights to modify this, i honestly can't believe that something like this can show up on an RX claim form, and i scoured the net and have found almsost nothing on what rights we have (if any) to limit information sharing by our insurance companies to only what is absolutely necessary.
>They dont have the right to give your health and drug info to your employer. Thats BULL. Contact an attorney if you need to. They also shouldnt be able to automatically disseminate what drug(s) you are on to other doctors. Managed care has got to go its ruining medicine.
Just dont sign it. Call a lawyer, contact your state attorney general's office. My state just established a department within the Attorney General's office to deal with consumer complaints relating to managed care and health insurance. I would expect most states have a similar setup by now, as my state is behind the times on healthcare issues.Get a lawyer, investigate, sue, have the insurance CEO sent to jail.
Posted by LostBoyinNC1 on July 29, 2002, at 19:40:30
In reply to Nobody cares?????, posted by housecat2075 on July 29, 2002, at 7:33:57
> i think this could have scary future ramifications. plz comments or help
Go talk to an attorney who specializes in healthcare stuff.
Posted by cybercafe on July 29, 2002, at 22:38:59
In reply to Re: med insrnc privacy - is it really this bad??, posted by LostBoyinNC1 on July 29, 2002, at 19:38:11
> They dont have the right to give your health and drug info to your employer. Thats BULL. Contact an attorney if you need to. They also shouldnt be able to automatically disseminate what drug(s) you are on to other doctors. Managed care has got to go its ruining medicine.
...dude... i had a job where we had to give our prescription stubs to the company accountant, and she would handle the insurance stuff (we were not allowed to mail them in directly, i checked)... are you telling me this is illegal?
Posted by oracle on July 29, 2002, at 23:55:20
In reply to med insrnc privacy - is it really this bad??, posted by housecat2075 on July 29, 2002, at 2:06:45
> I recently got a new job. my new insurance just gives me the creeeps, on a RX claim or mail order form, it says the following
>
> "i authorize the release of information [what information?] to your plan sponsor, plan admin, health care providers [my other docs?], and employer??????"
Welcome to the world of HMO's. I guess no one reads
the thick policy info one gets when they sign on.
A HMO shares it's info with almost everyone. This is why
most pdoc's put as little as possible in the file.However, I would fight over this part:
"and employer"I think work does not need all the info. I would
only want to sign a release for specific info, on a case
by case basis.
Posted by housecat2075 on July 30, 2002, at 0:16:49
In reply to med insrnc privacy - is it really this bad??, posted by housecat2075 on July 29, 2002, at 2:06:45
i think this could have scary future ramifications. plz comments or help
Posted by shar on July 30, 2002, at 1:10:26
In reply to Re: med insrnc privacy - is it really this bad??, posted by oracle on July 29, 2002, at 23:55:20
A few years ago I read, much to my dismay, about the formation of medical clearinghouses for insurance purposes. That is, it would be like a credit reporting company, but providing our personal health info to ... well, there's a lot of leeway there. At the very least they can provide info to any doc that is willing to pay, and the major market is, of course, insurance companies, and, I bet, employers.
So, these company's just collect and collect health care info on people. If a doc's office is computerized so that they exchange information with others, the reporting companies love it. They don't have to steal it either, since we usually sign away our rights.
I told my ob-gyn about it, and she acted shocked and said she'd heard of no such thing. Then 60 Minutes did a story on it, so there was some validation that I wasn't just making it all up.
I'm very comfortable crossing things out of those disclosure agreements, and adding things in. It may not be legally binding, but it at least feels better than just giving carte blanche to who knows who(m).
Shar
P.S. most docs do not like it when you do that crossing out stuff, and insurance companies don't either.
> > I recently got a new job. my new insurance just gives me the creeeps, on a RX claim or mail order form, it says the following
> >
> > "i authorize the release of information [what information?] to your plan sponsor, plan admin, health care providers [my other docs?], and employer??????"
>
>
> Welcome to the world of HMO's. I guess no one reads
> the thick policy info one gets when they sign on.
> A HMO shares it's info with almost everyone. This is why
> most pdoc's put as little as possible in the file.
>
> However, I would fight over this part:
> "and employer"
>
> I think work does not need all the info. I would
> only want to sign a release for specific info, on a case
> by case basis.
Posted by fachad on July 30, 2002, at 22:52:04
In reply to med insrnc privacy - is it really this bad??, posted by housecat2075 on July 29, 2002, at 2:06:45
The HR staff of your employeer knowing your private medical info is only part of the problem.
Take a look at this post and the assoicated thread:
Insurance, Profitability, Utilization, Profiling
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020709/msgs/112416.html
-fachad
> I recently got a new job. my new insurance just gives me the creeeps, on a RX claim or mail order form, it says the following
>
> "i authorize the release of information [what information?] to your plan sponsor, plan admin, health care providers [my other docs?], and employer??????"
>
>
> do i have no legal rights to modify this, i honestly can't believe that something like this can show up on an RX claim form, and i scoured the net and have found almsost nothing on what rights we have (if any) to limit information sharing by our insurance companies to only what is absolutely necessary.
>
> i was going to x out there clause and rewrite it saying "with prior notification of the insured" or "as is related directly to this claim"
>
> how can these companies operate like this???
>
> i am really pisssed, its 3 AM, i have work tommorow, and now i have to worry about my employer and all my doctors knowing about every single med i take, i cant believe this, say it aint so, say i can do something!!!! even overseas, right now prices of the meds i take are just too high.
>
> someone tell me i have a right to limit them on how they share information. if not i cant believe that this is going on without most ppl knowing or caring
>
> arggghhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :(
Posted by Dr. Bob on July 31, 2002, at 8:28:26
In reply to Is it really this bad?? - Actually, It's Worse!!, posted by fachad on July 30, 2002, at 22:52:04
> The HR staff of your employeer knowing your private medical info is only part of the problem...
This is an important topic, but I'd like the discussion to move to Psycho-Social-Babble, thanks:
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20020728/msgs/27679.html
Bob
PS: Follow-ups regarding posting policies should be redirected to Psycho-Babble Administration.
This is the end of the thread.
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