Tim Hull has more on a court decision in California mentioned last week on this blog:
Federal medical-privacy laws do not preempt California’s own rules against doctors disclosing patient information to debt collectors, the state Supreme Court ruled.
The unanimous court revived Robert Brown’s longtime crusade to hold dentist Rolf Reinholds accountable under California’s Confidentiality of Medical Information Act.
Way back in 2000, Reinholds billed Brown $600 for a permanent dental crown that Brown claimed he never received. Brown refused to pay the bill, and Reinholds sent the matter to a bill collector and a credit agency, along with a copy of Brown’s dental charts and the charts of Brown’s minor children.
Read more on Courthouse News.