Federal judge lifts ban on public access to Medicare data
By Maurice Tamman | Reuters – 2 hrs 29 mins ago
By Maurice Tamman
(Reuters) - A federal judge lifted a 33-year-old injunction barring public access to a confidential database of Medicare insurance claims, a decision that could lead to greater scrutiny of how physicians treat patients and charge for their services.
Judge Marcia Morales Howard ruled Friday in favor of a motion by Dow Jones, publisher of the Wall Street Journal, that the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida lift an injunction imposed in 1979.
The American Medical Association had fought lifting the ban, arguing that disclosure of the information would violate physicians' right to privacy. Doctors had successfully made the same argument in 1979, when a judge ruled the release of such information would violate the 1974 Privacy Act.
The AMA suggested Friday that it might appeal the decision. In a statement, AMA President-elect Ardis Dee Hoven said the doctors lobby was "considering its options on how best to continue to defend the personal privacy interests of all physicians."
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