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Why is "nothing more sensitive than your medical data"? I don't get it. Is this to do with insurance? But now there's no "prior condition" issue, so why is my

Why is "nothing more sensitive than your medical data"? I don't get it. Is this to do with insurance? But now there's no "prior condition" issue, so why is my medical data still sensitive?

maudineormsby 12y ago
Because lots of people don't want their medical conditions to be known, due to fear (legitimate and otherwise) of discrimination, being thought less of, or just plain being a private person. I'm not sure nothing is more sensitive than your medical data, but it's definitely sensitive.
uptown 12y ago
Say you have an STD. Do you want to broadcast that to everyone you know? Does your neighbor deserve to know? Do your parents deserve to know? How about your boss? Should a company be able to resell that information to the highest bidder? Medical information is sensitive information.
Zikes 12y ago
I'm not sure which of medical or financial data is considered more sensitive legally, but I think the phrase is mostly about medical data being so inherently personal. It's just meant to invoke an emotional reaction or connection.
- briantmaurer 12y ago
  Medical data is significantly more sensitive. Financial data says almost nothing about you other than what money you make and how you like to spend it. Medical data discloses your sex, drinking, smoking, drug, and physical habits, along with any mental issues, genetic pre-dispositions, where you live, who your family are, where you have worked, etc. With only a little inference you can get financial information from a person's medical records. TLDR; • Financial records are designed to track accurate exchanges of money. • Medical records are designed to keep an accurate representation of you. The goal is explicitly more personal.
  - Zikes 12y ago
    I agree with the principle, but my uncertainty was more about the legal definition.
dragonwriter 12y ago
> But now there's no "prior condition" issue Right now there isn't, as a result of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which the party controlling the Congressional majority has repeatedly committed to repealing in its totality (and has voted repeatedly to do) and is actively backing repeated challenges to through the courts. Policies can change, and information that is made public in a time of favorable policy can't retroactively be made unpublic to protect it from abuse when that policy changes. Further, insurance discrimination isn't the only area where harmful (economically or otherwise) discrimination on the basis of medical information is a concern, and while there may be some areas where this is restricted by law, people can break laws and pursuing legal remedies is an after the fact solution that is neither guaranteed effective nor free of its own costs, but people can't discriminate based on information they don't have.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]

Why is "nothing more sensitive than your medical data"? I don't get it. Is this to do with insurance? But now there's no "prior condition" issue, so why is my medical data still sensitive?

maudineormsby 12y ago

Because lots of people don't want their medical conditions to be known, due to fear (legitimate and otherwise) of discrimination, being thought less of, or just plain being a private person. I'm not sure nothing is more sensitive than your medical data, but it's definitely sensitive.

uptown 12y ago

Say you have an STD. Do you want to broadcast that to everyone you know? Does your neighbor deserve to know? Do your parents deserve to know? How about your boss? Should a company be able to resell that information to the highest bidder? Medical information is sensitive information.

Zikes 12y ago

I'm not sure which of medical or financial data is considered more sensitive legally, but I think the phrase is mostly about medical data being so inherently personal. It's just meant to invoke an emotional reaction or connection.

briantmaurer 12y ago
Medical data is significantly more sensitive. Financial data says almost nothing about you other than what money you make and how you like to spend it. Medical data discloses your sex, drinking, smoking, drug, and physical habits, along with any mental issues, genetic pre-dispositions, where you live, who your family are, where you have worked, etc. With only a little inference you can get financial information from a person's medical records. TLDR; • Financial records are designed to track accurate exchanges of money. • Medical records are designed to keep an accurate representation of you. The goal is explicitly more personal.
- Zikes 12y ago
  I agree with the principle, but my uncertainty was more about the legal definition.

dragonwriter 12y ago

> But now there's no "prior condition" issue Right now there isn't, as a result of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which the party controlling the Congressional majority has repeatedly committed to repealing in its totality (and has voted repeatedly to do) and is actively backing repeated challenges to through the courts. Policies can change, and information that is made public in a time of favorable policy can't retroactively be made unpublic to protect it from abuse when that policy changes. Further, insurance discrimination isn't the only area where harmful (economically or otherwise) discrimination on the basis of medical information is a concern, and while there may be some areas where this is restricted by law, people can break laws and pursuing legal remedies is an after the fact solution that is neither guaranteed effective nor free of its own costs, but people can't discriminate based on information they don't have.

deleted 12y ago

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