What's New

January 26, 2007

January Newsletter Posted

• HHS Asks for Comments on Plans for Electronic Health Records and Genomic Medicine: Submit Comments by February 5!
• Americans Are Concerned about Privacy of Electronic Records, Survey Finds
• Is Insurers’ Plan to Give Patients Personal Health Records a “Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing”?
  

December 29, 2006

December Newsletter Posted

• Massachusetts Blue Cross Blue Shield to Collect Mental Health Information
• Massachusetts Universal Health Insurance Raises Questions about Patient Privacy
• What Every Worker Should Know about Electronic Medical Records
• President’s Message: Looking Ahead

November 14, 2006

(November Newsletter Posted)

• National Survey: Americans’ Views on Health Care and Options for Reform

November 3, 2006

October Newsletter Posted

• How to Ensure Americans Are Informed of Their Right to Reject Routine HIV Screening
• AMA Adopts Mandatory Insurance Requirement
• Universal Health-Care Roundup: Two States Pass, Seven States Abandon Universal Health-Care Bills in 2006

 

October 19, 2006

September Newsletter Posted

• Health Privacy Roundup
• Patient Privacy Group Denounces Blue Cross Blue Shield Plan to Disclose De-identified Data of 79 Million Enrollees
• Congress Considers Important Health Privacy Legislation: Share Your Views
• Questions to Consider Regarding Universal Health Care

 

August 26, 2006

August Newsletter Posted

• Virginia Teen Claims Victory, Right to Refuse Chemotherapy Affirmed
• What Every American Should Know about Mandatory Universal Health Insurance
• Is Health Insurance to Blame for Spiraling Medical Costs?
• Reminder: Submit Your Comments on Upcoming National Health Reform by August 31!

August 18, 2006

July Newsletter Posted

• Family Challenges State’s Medical Orders for Teenage Son, Receives Support from Virginia Attorney General
• Federal Government Funds Random Home Health Checkups
• Institute of Medicine Reports that Medication Errors Harm 1.5 Million Patients Annually
  
  

July 21, 2006

June Newsletter Posted

• President Bush and Congress Need Your Input on National Health Reform
• What We Cannot Afford...
• Mandatory Health Insurance: Health Care by Force
• Informed Consent Waived in Public Health Emergency

 

June 4, 2006

May Newsletter Posted

• Legislation Introduced to Digitize Federal Employee Health Records
• Congress Set to Override State Medical-Privacy Rights
• Medicare Costs Projected to More than Double in Next 10 Years

April 11, 2006

April Newsletter Posted

• How Massachusetts's Health Plan Affects Privacy and Liberty
• The Massachusetts Health-Insurance Bill Mandates New Taxes and Privacy Invasions
• Online Analysis of the Massachusetts Health Plan

April 10, 2006

What Every American Should Know about the Massachusetts Mandatory Health-Insurance Legislation

April 9, 2006

March Newsletter Posted

• Body Snatching? Why We Need Informed Consent and True Health Privacy Rights
• National Health Spending to Double by 2015
• Amish Drive Down Medical Costs

April 4, 2006

February Newsletter Posted

• Congress to Gut State Medical-Privacy Laws?
• $5.5 Billion in 2007 Budget for Building a "Federal Health Architecture"
• Comptroller General Urges Congress to Re-examine Federal Health Spending

February 11, 2006

January Newsletter Posted

• Universal Insurance Mandate Leads to Political Interference in Private Health-Care Decisions
• New York City Begins Tracking and Monitoring Diabetics
• New Study Finds Medicare's Administrative Costs Are Underestimated

February 8, 2006 (posted February 10)

Congress Could Vote Soon on a Bill that Abolishes State Health-Privacy Rights: Act Now to Voice Your Own Opinion about H.R. 4157.

January 9, 2006

December Newsletter Posted

• Who's Going to Direct Your Health-Care Choices?
• Survey Shows Most Americans Are Concerned about Health Privacy
• Wired for Health Care Quality Act Deeply Flawed

December 10, 2005

November Newsletter Posted

• Appeals Court Affirms Weak Federal Privacy Rule, But Opens Door to Stronger State Privacy Laws
• Bill Introduced to Stop FDA's Censorship
• NVIC Says Federal Bird Flu Protection Legislation is Unconstitutional
• Cut Federal Spending and Put Medicare Prescription Drugs on Hold

November 2, 2005

October Newsletter Posted

• Electronic Medical Records (EMRs): Trick or a Treat?
• Strong Supporter of EMRs Considers Presidential Run
• Is Big Brother Planning to Tag and Track Prescription Drugs Electronically?

October 13, 2005

September Newsletter Posted

• How Would Washingtonians Want to Be Treated?
• Government and Industry Groups Increase Push for Electronic Medical Records
• Prescription for Privacy Invasions

August 27, 2005

August Newsletter Posted

• Federal Government Proposes Linking Nursing-Home Payments to Vaccinations: Submit Public Comments by August 30!
• Growth in Federal Health Programs Results in Massive Collection of Personal Information

August 9, 2005

July Newsletter Posted

• Medical Laboratories Could Be Compelled to Report Citizens' Blood-Sugar-Test Results to Local Governments
• HHS Proposes Centralized System of Records for Health-Care Investigations
• Do Canadian Seniors Have More Health Freedom than American Seniors?

July 1, 2005

June Newsletter Posted

• It's Time to Unsocialize Medicare in the U.S.
• Canadian Supreme Court Strikes Down Ban on Private Health Insurance
• Maintaining Americans' National Sovereignty and Access to Dietary Supplements

June 3, 2005

May Newsletter Posted

• Hillary Clinton and Newt Gingrich Support Legislation That Could Increase Medical Privacy Risks
• What All Americans Should Consider Regarding H.R. 2234
• 71 Percent of Older Adults Use Alternative Medicine

May 6, 2005

April Newsletter Posted

• Should a Federal Committee Recommend Making Your Family's Genetic History Available on the Internet?
• Medicare Rx Spending to Outpace GDP Growth; Hospital-Spending Growth Not Expected to Slow
• Indian Tribe Sues Researchers for Unconsented Genetic Studies

April 1, 2005

March Newsletter Posted

• Why the Right to Contract Privately Must Be Upheld
• Most Americans Are Uninformed about Plans for a National Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) System
• Why I'm Staying Optimistic about Health Privacy
• National Health Spending Trends for 2004-2014

March 10, 2005

Institute for Health Freedom updated its Website: Changes were made to the "About" and "Newsletter" sections.

March 10, 2005

Institute for Health Freedom posted back issues of its email newsletter Health Freedom Watch.

February 11, 2005

What Every American Needs to Know about Social Security and the Mandatory Medicare-Enrollment Policy: Government Imposes a Huge Financial Penalty on Seniors Who Reject Socialized Medicine.

January 6, 2005

Hospital Association Urges HHS to Eliminate Citizens Right to Public Health Disclosure Information: Currently, citizens are entitled to know if their health information was disclosed to public health officials for purposes such as tracking communicable diseases or placement in a cancer or other disease registry. But HHS is considering eliminating this right to know.

Share Your Comments on the Forthcoming National Electronic Medical-Records Network: Do you approve of having your personal health information (including mental-health records and genetic data) linked to a national electronic medical-records network and widely used without your knowledge or permission?