In a recent announcement by the the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regarding its solicitation for public comments pertaining to proposed finalized changes to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) privacy rules, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) (under HHS) has extended the deadline for public comments to May 6th, 2021 at 11:59 pm – ET.
For more information on the finalized rules, and on how to submit a comment, see below.
Submit an official comment to Regulations.gov
Instructions
Here’s the Skinny From our Partners at the Treatment Advocacy Center (TAC)…
“The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced plans to change the HIPAA Privacy Rule and is asking for public comments. This is an important opportunity to let HHS know how the Privacy Rule acts as a barrier to treatment of severe mental illness. HHS’s proposal would improve access to care by allowing clinicians to disclose information about a patient’s condition and treatment if they have a “good faith belief” that it is in the patient’s best interest, as opposed to the vaguely worded “exercise of professional judgment” standard that prevents families from exchanging information with clinicians. The new language would also allow clinicians to disclose information to prevent a “serious and reasonably foreseeable threat,” as opposed to the current language, which requires a “serious and imminent” threat.”
It is vital that all of us who care about access to treatment for people with severe mental illness submit comments to HHS supporting these changes. Tell your personal story, but also suggest stronger language and more thorough changes to the Privacy Rule.
Resources:
Read the Treatment Advocacy Center’s comments as a guide.
Watch this GREAT instructional webinar on the HIPAA Privacy Rule and how to submit comments to HHS on the proposed changes.
Time to Turn Up the Heat
We need all hands on deck to urge HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, to appoint an assistant secretary to oversee SAMHSA who understands untreated and under-treated serious mental illness. A joint open letter from serious mental illness advocates calls on Xavier Becerra to appoint a person with psychiatric expertise over Mental Health and Substance Use, who will sustain and improve bipartisan reforms under the previous administration that spurred the agency to include scientific, evidence-based, policy.
Act Now! Share The Open Letter by Following These Instructions, and be sure to “Tag (@)” Attorney General Xavier Becerra.
Doubling Down on Ending Homelessness.
Enough is Enough!
In case you missed it, watch the launch of Hope Street Coalition, an exciting new initiative led by Paul Webster, former senior advisor with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). This is no ordinary coalition. When you mix top policy advisors like Paul with -SERIOUS- serious mental illness advocates, change happens! Join Hope Street Coalition to address the intersection of homelessness, mental illness, and addiction. We know the solution. We just need your voice to ramp up the volume!
Paul was joined by fellow policy experts Dr. Drew Pinsky, physician & popular media figure and Dr. Elinore McCance-Katz, First Assistant Secretary under HHS for Mental Health & Substance Use and the director of the Substance Use and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Interest is pouring in from all over America from folks just like you.
Don’t get left behind! Be sure to connect at www.hopestreetcoalition.org to stay engaged. A new strategy (and new surprises) will be unveiled soon!