"Attorney General Van Hollen's well-researched legal opinion provides a valuable public service by clearing up confusion and explaining that federal HIPAA law does not enable local and state government officials to keep records secret if they should otherwise be open," Stanley said.
"In this case, a local fire department had refused to provide information about a public employee who crashed his truck into a sign and was arrested for drunk driving. The taxpayers who pay for his salary, for the truck he was driving and for the auto and liability insurance - as well as the people who live in the neighborhoods he was driving drunk through - deserve to know that information."
Like every other abused law, HIPAA has a special place in the heart of public officials who are less than fond of the public spotlight. HIPAA is not a shield law for cronies and incompetence, it is to protect individuals rights of privacy. Take that, public servant!
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