March 18, 2022
On Feb. 9, 2022, U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) introduced S. 3620, the Health Data Use and Privacy Commission Act.
The bill proposes to create a Commission on Health Data Use and Privacy Protection to study the collection, storage and use of personal health information (PHI). The commission would be tasked with (1) reviewing existing protections of PHI across industries and (2) making recommendations to update the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to better reflect the use of new digital health and telemedicine technologies.
In introducing the legislation, Senators Cassidy and Baldwin stated that HIPAA is in need of modernization to give Americans peace of mind that their PHI is safe, while ensuring that the nation’s healthcare system has the tools needed to advance high-quality care.
Introduction of the bill follows a recent trend of increased attention to data privacy at the federal level, both for HIPAA-covered entities and for non-covered entities. For example, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is currently accepting comments on proposed modifications to regulations implementing HIPAA and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 (HITECH). Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a policy statement on Sept. 15, 2021, and two additional resources (Health Breach Notification Rule: The Basics for Business and Complying with FTC’s Health Breach Notification Rule in January 2022) reminding developers of health apps and other non-covered entities of their obligations under the Health Breach Notification Rule. After issuing the policy statement, the FTC launched a health privacy webpage, featuring several guidance documents to help businesses comply with the Health Breach Notification Rule.
As currently proposed, the commission would focus its evaluation on a variety of data privacy and use issues:
The legislation was referred to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee for further action. There is no companion legislation in the House of Representatives.