Enrolled Bill Summary

            Senate Bill 1136 amends the Health and Safety Code relating to access to certain private medical information to comply with changes to the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996. The bill clarifies the definition of "marketing" and requires a covered entity to obtain clear and unambiguous permission to use or disclose protected health information for marketing purposes, except in certain circumstances. The bill includes provisions relating to the introduction by a covered entity of mitigating evidence in proceedings to impose or assess certain penalties for disclosure of individually identifiable health information. It sets out the duties of the commissioner of health and human services and authorizes the commissioner, on determining that it is in the best interest of the state, to adopt rules that reflect changes to HIPAA. Senate Bill 1136 provides that the American Red Cross is not prohibited from accessing any information necessary to perform duties related to providing biomedical services. The bill requires the office of the attorney general to perform an analysis to determine which state laws are preempted by HIPAA and authorizes the attorney general to establish a task force to assist in performing the analysis. The bill takes effect September 1, 2003, except for the provisions related to the definition of "marketing" and the uses of health information for marketing purposes, which are effective January 1, 2004.