Some of the biggest health industry news has dropped in the past week, which is no doubt why we Americans are being distracted by former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) directors and rogue Health and Human Services (HHS) staffers mounting a smear campaign against HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The Senate Is Out for Robert Kennedy Over Monarez Firing, CDC Resignations
The CURES Act was passed by Congress in 2016 during the Obama administration. The Act included provisions against information blocking: where providers and healthcare systems prevented patients from having access to their medical data or would not allow the patient's data to be shared with others providers — even a close relative or caregiver — when the patient has provided a waiver. However, between powerful medical lobbying arms and the COVID pandemic, further clarifications and enforcement of this Act were stymied and delayed; thus information blocking continues to this day.
In 2022, the Biden administration's HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra paid lip service to making enforcement of those who are found liable for blocking information, a "top HHS priority."
This is an issue, he noted, because more than 75% of the complaints submitted to ONC have been about providers – and most have come from patients. Information blocking, he said, leads to stress for patients and families, along with frustration for staff.
"That is not the kind of customer experience any of us should expect, certainly not in the 21st century, from our healthcare system," he said.
Put simply, he said, closing the enforcement gap is a "top HHS priority, and we are working hard on this issue right now."
As with much of what should have happened during the Biden administration, it was pushed aside for so-called reproductive care, enforcing vaccine mandates, and promoting the transgender agenda. So, the shakeup occurring at HHS and the CDC have been critical in order to focus on actual health concerns of the American people.
On Wednesday, HHS Secretary Kennedy announced that the issue of Information Blocking would finally be addressed, and he detailed why in a video on X. Kennedy explained:
I want to ask you a question about your healthcare data. Should you be able to decide who accesses it? Should you be able to view it on your phone?
Or should healthcare companies be able to block you from sharing it with trusted parties that you designate?
Well, that's what's been happening. It's called, "Information Blocking." And it's been illegal ever since President Trump passed the CURES Act rules in 2020. Until now, HHS has never enforced this regulation; I know this because we still receive complaints about information blocking today. This is wrong, and it's illegal. This is 2025, nearly 10 years after Congress passed the CURES Act. Patients should be able to access their healthcare information on their phones or computers. They should be able to share that information with their doctors, their hospitals, researchers of their choice and trusted relatives. After all, it's your data and you should be in control of your information. And you will be under the new HHS.
This is incredible news, not only for patients with multiple providers or who have to manage their information across agencies or states, but for patients like me who choose to do the majority of their health maintenance with holistic practitioners. My experience in trying to access my medical records to share with my functional nutritionist has been like pulling teeth. And if you disclose that this is for the purposes of seeing a naturopath, a functional nutritionist, or any practitioner outside of a hospital or clinic, the lack of response, along with the disapproval, is often more pronounced.
While there are exceptions, many medical practitioners and electronic record systems make excuses that skirt the line of information blocking, without flat-out saying that is what they are doing. Without any means of enforcement, patients are too often hung out to dry, or required to resurrect their medical history from their own records or memory. It's a frustrating and nonsensical process. But now that Kennedy plans to begin enforcement of penalties against such providers or systems who block patients from their information, it will change the landscape for all involved.
Kennedy continued:
No one, not your doctor, not your hospital, not the electronic healthcare record companies, will be able to cordon off your information for their own profit. If they do, we want you to report them through the "Report Information Blocking Portal" on the healthit.gov website. I promise you, our Office of Inspector General will take action. Any healthcare provider, electronic health record vendor, or data network that blocks information could face millions of dollars in penalties in addition to removal from government programs.
This is an action for patients that should be widely disseminated. But unless a person follows the HHS X account, they may not know that they have this recourse available to them. Legacy media outlets have been radio silent concerning this, while regurgitating the 1,000 HHS employees who are calling for Kennedy's resignation.
Kennedy concluded with the "WHY" behind the importance of this enforcement action:
I'll just say one more thing about why this is important. When a patient visits an emergency room, doctors need to access that patient's medical history. They need to know about medications, blood types, allergies, and prior diagnoses. Otherwise, how can they provide the right care. Information technology should make this easy: you just give permission and your doctor has all the necessary information at his or her fingertips. We at the new HHS have zero tolerance for any companies that interfere with your right to access your health information and your right to share your health information with trusted parties of your choosing. Your health data is your data and we're going to make sure that it serves you. The Office of Inspector General and our Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy will be sending a joint alert letter informing appropriate stakeholders that this policy is effective immediately. Thank you, and stay well.
You heard it here first, folks. Help HHS hold practitioners and systems accountable who are blocking you from your medical information.
Here is Kennedy's announcement from X.
WATCH:
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