Senators Introduce Bill to Bolster HIPAA Protections For Patients Seeking Reproductive Healthcare

February 16, 2023 - US Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) introduced the Secure Access for Essential Reproductive (SAFER) Health Act, which offers strengthened HIPAA protections that would prohibit providers from disclosing patient information relating to abortion or pregnancy loss without patient consent.

The SAFER Health Act is the Senators’ response to the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, which took away the constitutional right to abortion in the US. In addition to reproductive health and access concerns, the Supreme Court’s decision sparked significant patient privacy concerns.

“No one should have to worry about being investigated or prosecuted for receiving or providing reproductive health care,” Bennet stated. “This legislation will protect the privacy of patients who have had abortions, regardless of where they live or receive care.”

Last year, Senators Bennet and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) sent a letter urging HHS to consider updating the HIPAA Privacy Rule to better defend reproductive rights. At the time, Senators Bennet and Cortez Masto encouraged HHS to strengthen HIPAA protections and ensure that reproductive health information could not be shared with law enforcement agencies targeting individuals for having an abortion.

The SAFER Health Act expands upon these sentiments. If passed, the Act would prohibit HIPAA-covered entities and business associates from disclosing information related to pregnancy termination or loss in without consent, and would direct HHS to revise HIPAA and HITECH to enforce the Act. The Act would apply to Federal, State, local, and Tribal proceedings.

“While the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) limits what personal health information can be shared, the current privacy rule allows reproductive health information to be used for legal investigations and court cases without a patient’s consent,” an accompanying bill summary stated.

“The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has taken important steps to clarify the current rule in the wake of Dobbs, but federal legislation is needed to address this specific risk to patients.”

The Act would also require HHS to launch a national campaign in order to educate covered entities and business associates about these changes to HIPAA.

“If you get an abortion or experience pregnancy loss, you deserve to know that your medical records will remain private, unless you say otherwise—I think that is something we all can agree on,” Hirono said. “I will continue working to secure access to safe reproductive health care and fighting for women’s rights to control their own bodies.”

Along with Bennet and Hirono, US Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Patty Murray (D-WA) co-sponsored the bill.