SB 81: Health facilities: information sharing.

Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to license and regulate each health facility, defined to mean a facility, place, or building that is organized, maintained, and operated for the diagnosis, care, prevention, and treatment of human illness, and to which persons are admitted for a 24-hour stay or longer, and includes, among others, a general acute care hospital, an acute psychiatric hospital, and a skilled nursing facility.

Existing law, the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act, prohibits a health care provider, a contractor, or a health care service plan from disclosing medical information, as defined, regarding a patient of the provider or an enrollee or subscriber of the health care service plan without first obtaining an authorization, except as specified.

This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to prohibit health facilities from collaborating with, providing access to, or providing information, including patient data or records, about patients to, immigration authorities.