Well, today Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton will debate each other for the first time, and I thought it would be appropriate to consider this one issue: Why don’t we know much about either of their health care records? The answer is simple, and it impacts each and every one of our estate planning clients.
I recorded a quick video to explain – enjoy!
Of course, for those of you that want to skip ahead and figure out what I’m talking about, it is HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”), Pub. L. 104-191, 45 CFR §§ 160–164). This is the law that protects all of our health care information – and this is the reason why we only know what Trump & Clinton want us to know about their health. Generally, this is a good thing for us as individuals. However, there are circumstances where you should consider signing a general HIPAA release, so that certain of your loved-ones have access to your health care information in the event of an emergency.