Lawsuit filed against stimulus act

Health Data Management, July 7, 2009

A Durham, NH, nurse has filed a civil suit against three officials of the Obama Administration alleging the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's health information technology provisions unconstitutionally violate the HIPAA privacy rule, Privacy Act and Federal Common Law. In a complaint filed June 25 and seeking class action status, the nurse names as defendants Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services; Nancy-Ann DeParle, Director of the White House Office of Health Reform; and Charlene Frizzera, Acting Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.