ACLU-FreedomWorks Letter to Congress re: Unique Health Identifier Funding Prohibition

In this joint letter to Congress, the ACLU and FreedomWorks urged members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees to maintain an important medical privacy provision in the FY 2020 Labor-HHS appropriation bill.

Since FY 1999, Congress has included language in each Labor-HHS appropriations bill blocking the Department of Health and Human Services from spending funds to promulgate regulations for the adoption of a unique health identifier for an individual unless Congress approves the standards. Given the profound sensitivity of medical information and the potential threat to individuals’ privacy rights, the ACLU and FreedomWorks urged members of Congress to maintain this important provision in the FY 2020 Labor-HHS appropriation bill.