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Friday, December 01, 2006

Ind. Decisions - More on the Planned Parenthood records decision

"State ends battle for girls' health records: Attorney general settles with Planned Parenthood over seizure of medical data" is the headline to a front-page story by Diana Penner in today's Indianapolis Star. Some quotes:

Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter has conceded a longstanding legal battle with Planned Parenthood of Indiana over minors' reproductive health clinic records.

On Thursday, representatives from Planned Parenthood and Carter's office signed a settlement agreement worked out after a Sept. 22 Indiana Court of Appeals ruling said a minor's right to privacy trumps the state's desire to search for evidence of abuse.

"We're very thankful that we came to this agreeable end to a disagreeable episode,'' said Betty Cockrum, president and chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood of Indiana.

Carter was not available for comment, and a spokeswoman said only that he had decided not to take the case to the Indiana Supreme Court.

The case dates to March 2005, when Planned Parenthood sued to stop investigators from Carter's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit from seizing records related to patients younger than 14.

Abortion records were not part of the case, but the state wanted records of 81 low-income girls who had sought Planned Parenthood services, which could have included counseling, pregnancy tests, screenings and birth control.

In a statement at that time, Carter said he wanted to find out whether Planned Parenthood's clinics were adhering to Indiana child-abuse reporting requirements. Under Indiana law, sex with a child younger than 14 is abuse, regardless of the age of the other person.

Planned Parenthood initially turned over the records of eight patients but balked at additional requests and went to court.

The legal question was whether a federal law on Medicaid fraud could be used to obtain medical records of sexually active children younger than 14.

In June 2005, Marion Superior Court Judge Kenneth H. Johnson ruled in Carter's favor. "The great public interest in the reporting, investigation and prosecution of child abuse trumps even the patient's interest in privileged communication with her physician,'' Johnson wrote in his decision.

The appeals court in September overturned that decision, saying that "granting (the Medicaid fraud unit's) demand for unlimited access to PPI's minor patients' medical records is neither the only, nor the most effective, nor the least intrusive means of serving those interests.''

Cockrum on Thursday pointed to strong language in a concurring statement by appeals court Judge Michael Barnes: "There is not a whit, not an iota, and not a scintilla of evidence in the record that (Planned Parenthood) has failed to report suspected abuse.''

"That pretty much says it all,'' Cockrum said. "I believe it became fairly clear and conclusive that we do our jobs.''

For background, start with this Sept. 26 ILB entry and associated links, and this Sept. 22nd entry, quoting from the opinion.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on December 1, 2006 09:29 AM
Posted to Ind. App.Ct. Decisions