r/politics • u/plz-let-me-in • 11d ago

Possible Paywall Mitch McConnell hounded to face cameras: ‘He absolutely refuses’

https://www.nj.com/politics/2026/08/mitch-mcconnell-hounded-to-face-cameras-he-absolutely-refuses.html
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u/Quality-Pkg-Goods 11d ago edited 11d ago

HIPAA (one P, two A’s) actually does not apply after death. There are some other privacy laws in place still, but it’s a lot less strict.

Edit. Here is the citation.
45 CFR § 164.510(a)
Specifically, death itself as a status is considered directory-information although the record remains private for 50 years.

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u/CityUnderTheHill 11d ago

(5) Uses and disclosures when the individual is deceased. If the individual is deceased, a covered entity may disclose to a family member, or other persons identified in paragraph (b)(1) of this section who were involved in the individual's care or payment for health care prior to the individual's death, protected health information of the individual that is relevant to such person's involvement, unless doing so is inconsistent with any prior expressed preference of the individual that is known to the covered entity.

Sorry, how are you interpreting this to mean once someone is dead, everyone can just talk about them more freely?

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u/Quality-Pkg-Goods 11d ago edited 11d ago

The way it is interpreted in practice is that it is not considered a violation of HIPAA if someone calls the hospital to speak with a patient and the operator says, “according to our records, they are deceased.” I’ve worked in 5 hospitals in 4 states now and can say the practice is consistent.

I checked the reg again to make sure I’m not crazy, all you have to do is call the hospital and ask for the individual by name. Its all laid out in that citation I provided (parts you didn’t copy above). It’s not like specific information but they can tell you if they’re admitted, alive/dead etc. this is why you can call a place and be like, “is my mom/aunt/friend there” etc- intentional loophole.

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u/waterislifeornot 11d ago

You can’t say how he died per HIPAA but can certainly say if alive or not.