[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5126 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5126

To amend the Federal Rules of Evidence to create an explicit privilege 
                      to preserve medical privacy.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 22, 2004

Mr. Nadler (for himself, Mr. Shays, Mrs. Lowey, Mr. Ruppersberger, Mr. 
Filner, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. George Miller of California, Mr. 
 Moran of Virginia, Mr. Serrano, Mr. Crowley, Mrs. Maloney, Mr. Olver, 
 Mr. Abercrombie, Mr. Waxman, Mr. Kucinich, Mrs. Davis of California, 
Mr. McDermott, and Mr. Gordon) introduced the following bill; which was 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Federal Rules of Evidence to create an explicit privilege 
                      to preserve medical privacy.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Patients' Privacy Protection Act of 
2004''.

SEC. 2. HEALTH CARE PROVIDER-PATIENT PRIVILEGE.

    (a) In General.--Article V of the Federal Rules of Evidence is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Rule 502. Health Care Provider and Patient
    ``(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), a patient has a 
privilege with respect to any evidence consisting of a confidential 
communication or record made in the course of medical treatment.
    ``(b)(1) A court may order the disclosure of a communication or 
record otherwise privileged under this rule, to the extent the court 
determines, after the individual who is the subject of the information 
in the communication or record has been provided with notice and an 
opportunity to raise objections, that the public interest in disclosure 
significantly outweighs the patient's privacy interests.
    ``(2) If the court orders disclosure under this subdivision, the 
court shall, to the greatest practicable extent, ensure that the 
personally identifiable information in the communication or record is 
redacted, and that the patient's communications and records remain 
under seal.
    ``(c) The exception in subdivision (b) does not apply to any other 
privilege, provided by these rules or other law, with respect to a 
communication or record subject to the privilege created by this rule.
    ``(d) As used in this rule, the term `medical treatment' means 
medical treatment of the patient by a duly licensed health care 
provider.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents at the beginning of 
the Federal Rules of Evidence is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to rule 501 the following:

``Rule 502. Health care provider and patient.''.
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