Under previous rules, organizations were allowed to disclose private medical information to law enforcement in certain cases, such as a criminal investigation. Officials at the Department of Health and Human Services said they had heard from patients and providers who were confused about their legal risks or had even deferred care amid GOP threats in the nearly two dozen states with abortion restrictions.
“People feel scared to confide in their providers. People are worried in this new climate about how their medical information might be used,” said Melanie Fontes Rainer, director of the civil rights office at HHS, which revamped the rules. “The goal here is to reinstate trust into the provider medical relationship. … The goal here is that people don’t stay home if they’re too scared to get care.”
Monday’s announcement is the latest effort by the Biden administration intended to safeguard reproductive health care,