Advocates for medical record privacy see dangers in "California Health Insurance Reliability Act", or S.B. 840, creating the potential for a "big brother" data collection system run by the state. Privacy advocate Barbara Clark, R.N., N.P., said: SB 840 offers no provisions for the confidentiality of patient medical records and such a state system would be exempted from the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). This means medical records could be used for illegitimate political purposes with no accountability or recourse to the patient."

    This nurse has an on-going federal lawsuit in Sacramento alleging that a claims adjuster and an attorney for the Adventist Health System (Roseville, Ca) illegally used her medical records in an attempt to procure a paltry settlement in her on-going workers' compensation case by using the threat of public dissemination of the medical records as bargaining leverage. See: U.S.D.C. for the E.D.C. (Sacramento) Case no. S-07-1086-FCD-KJM. Another federal case remains on appeal at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Case no. 06-16333.

    Barbara Clark can not get the proper medical care to cure and relieve her dental, jaw and serve neck problems that have been lingering since 1994, when she was kicked in the head while bringing new life into the world as a delivery nurse. The only thing the insurance company, which also happens to be a religious hospital organization, is willing to do is to humiliate, embarrass and harass Nurse Clark. On March 1st she became homeless, yet she holds court orders issued for the critically needed medical care and other disability benefits. Is this just the tip of the iceberg of what is being allowed to happen to hard working families in California? In January, Governor Schwarzenegger said "justice delayed is justice denied" in his State of the State address. So why is the Governor allowing justice to be denied to handicapped injured workers?

    Before Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed SB899 into law, employers' worker compensation insurance rates were increasing by as much as 200 to 300%. After the passage of SB899, employers insurance rates have only dropped a very small amount, anywhere from as little as 5%. Yet state officials keep telling us of the tremendous savings.

    As a result of SB899, benefits to injured workers have dropped dramatically. So where is all this savings going? Employers are not seeing much of a rate drop. One must wonder where are all the billions of dollars going? At least one state senator, Jackie Speier is starting to push for answers. So why are not others in Sacramento demanding answers also?

She added: "SB 840 needs a provision for the appointment of a Chief Privacy Officer (CPO). The authorizing federal legislation creating the U.S. Department of Homeland Security had a provision for a CPO, SB 840 should do the same."

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