Rep. Roy Introduces Legislation to Prevent Creation of Federal Medical IDs

On Tuesday, I was joined by Reps. Thomas Massie (KY-4) and Mary Miller (IL-15) to introduce legislation to protect Americans’ medical privacy and curb the federal government’s ability to track them.

Titled the National Patient Identifier Repeal Act, the bill would overturn provisions that give federal authorities the power to create a “unique health identifier” to track Americans’ medical records.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) established the statutory authority to create a unique health identifier, a distinct ID code to identify the medical records of every individual, employer, health plan, and health care provider in America.  Last year the Senate ended an important funding ban on the creation of federal health identifiers; the bill introduced Tuesday would eliminate that power completely under federal law.

“Personal privacy is a vital part of a healthcare system that respects patients’ personal freedom,” I said. “A National Patient ID to track and monitor people is a clear and direct threat to that privacy. As the federal government continues efforts to intrude further and further into the medical privacy of every American under the guise of fighting COVID, Congress must do everything in our power to fight back for healthcare freedom. I am proud to introduce this bill alongside Reps. Massie and Miller grateful for my friend Senator Paul’s leadership on this fight in the Senate.”

“As a physician, I know firsthand how much the doctor-patient relationship relies on trust and privacy, which would be undermined by a National Patient ID. Now, more than ever, it is crucial to protect Americans' genetic information from theft by foreign actors like China, and prevent the government from centralizing patients' personal health records or interfering with their medical decisions,” said Dr. Rand Paul.

“We cannot give the Biden administration the ability to create a centralized database with the personal health information of every American while they are trying to use OSHA to fire Americans based on their healthcare decisions. Just like the Obama-Biden administration, the Biden-Harris administration is politicizing America’s healthcare system and drastically expanding the power and reach of the federal government to punish anyone who disagrees with their political agenda,” said Rep. Mary Miller.

The effort is joined by Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) who have introduced companion legislation in the United States Senate.

Full text of the legislation can be found here.