Doctors for America, Cities of Columbus, OH, and Madison, WI, Pursue Intervention in Texas Case Threatening Patient Privacy Bedrocks
Washington D.C. – Two major U.S. cities and physician advocacy group Doctors for America (DFA), represented by Democracy Forward, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, and Public Rights Project, are taking legal action to protect patients nationwide from aggressive attempts by the Texas Attorney General to upend federal medical privacy protections nationwide and inject massive instability into the health care system.
In the case, Texas v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services et al., Texas Attorney General Paxton challenges a 24-year-old regulation that serves as the foundation for medical privacy under HIPAA nationwide and a more recent regulation implemented by the Biden-Harris administration to support reproductive healthcare privacy in 2024. In response to the court’s order on May 13, the cities and doctors today indicated that they seek to continue to defend the two rules, noting that the Trump-Vance administration is no longer defending the 2024 rule in three other related cases.
“HIPAA privacy protections are a critical safeguard against extremist political interference in Americans’ healthcare decisions and care,” said Carrie Flaxman, Senior Legal Advisor at Democracy Forward. “The State of Texas’ attempt to block this 2024 rule—or, worse, unravel HIPAA protections entirely—could open the floodgates to invasive government investigations into private medical records, putting patients and doctors in needless peril. Democracy Forward is unwavering in our commitment to continue to fight Texas’ and any other states’ attacks on Americans’ bedrock privacy protections and defend the decades of legal precedent behind them.”
“These attempts by the State of Texas to interfere in HIPAA privacy protections compromise the very core of medical ethics – open communication and trust between a patient and their doctor,” said Christine Petrin, MD, MPH, Board President of Doctors for America.
“Columbus and Madison are leading by example as they stand up for their residents’ health and privacy. Cities across the country are on the frontlines of fighting for vulnerable populations and they have a direct stake in filling the gap left by the federal administration. We’re proud to help our local government partners defend these critical protections,” said Jill Habig, Founder and CEO at Public Rights Project.
The cities of Columbus, Ohio, and Madison, Wisconsin, are represented in this matter by Democracy Forward, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, and Public Rights Project. Doctors for America is represented by Democracy Forward and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP. Thompson Coburn LLP is serving as local counsel in the Texas case.
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Democracy Forward is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, and public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.
Public Rights Project is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that helps local government officials fight for civil rights by building capacity, convening and connecting, and providing legal representation. For more information, please visit www.publicrightsproject.org.