Insurance agency in NY asks customers to provide birth certificates for use in health care
NY insurance agencies are seeking a record of all of their patients’ birth certificates.
The New York State Health Information Services Authority is asking people who have health insurance in the state to submit the birth certificates to the agency to ensure their identity.
The authority said it will send a letter to people who submit a birth certificate or other document that identifies them as a New Yorker in an effort to provide additional privacy protections.
The authority is asking that the documents be signed by a trusted person and mailed to the address of the person requesting the records.
The letter will be sent to a mailing address provided by the agency.
The letters will be posted on the agency’s website.
The New York City Health Department and the state’s Office of Vital Records said the letters will only be sent after the New York health department received all of the requested documents from the insurance agency.
The agency, which has the power to deny access to health information for any reason, is asking New Yorkers to sign a form stating they are willing to cooperate in the records collection.
In response to a query about whether the requests were part of a broader effort to protect people’s identities, a spokeswoman for the New Jersey Office of Health and Human Services, which oversees the state health insurance programs, said that in the past, the agency has denied requests for health records if people refused to provide the information.
She added that the agency had never before denied requests from a state agency that had requested birth certificates from its citizens.
The office said it was not aware of any other requests to the state.
A spokesman for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in New Jersey said the agency could not comment on the matter and referred questions to the health department.
“We are unaware of any requests for this information from the New Mexico Health Department,” the office said in an emailed statement.
The health department has no jurisdiction over the state, which is governed by the New Hampshire Legislature, and its officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.NYC insurers said the request to help protect the privacy of individuals’ birth records is in response to public health concerns about how health care information is used.
In March, the state launched a public health campaign asking people to sign up for free birth certificates and to report any instances of the information being used to discriminate against minorities and other vulnerable groups.
The state health department said it does not collect birth records for purposes other than those covered by the health insurance plans, which include health care services such as surgeries, medical tests and prescriptions.
The birth records are required to be sent out to New Yorkers who do not have insurance, but are not required to include the names or addresses of people who sign up.
The state does not have a statewide database of birth certificates, which can be used to track people’s lives.
In April, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported that New York insurance agencies were asking for the birth records of people whose identities had been previously released under New York law.
In February, a federal appeals court struck down a state law that required insurance agencies to obtain people’s birth records when requested by their insurance company.NYMIRAS is the state agency responsible for administering the New Yorkers’ health insurance.
The agencies’ request comes as the state is grappling with rising rates of COVID-19 in New York, a coronavirus outbreak in the city, and a surge in cases of diabetes and other diseases.
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