N.Y. Insurance Law § 321 : Insurance — Administrative And Procedural Provisions — Medical information exchange centers

Current through 2016 New York Laws, Chapters 1 to 237

(a) Whenever any insurance company (which is a member of a medical information exchange center or which otherwise may transmit medical information in whatever manner to any other similar facility including but not limited to an electronic data facility used by two or more insurance companies to determine or aid in determining the insurability of applicants) requests medical information from any applicant for personal insurance, it shall not transmit, nor be considered to have obtained the applicant's informed consent to transmit, the information to any such facility unless such company furnishes such applicant with a clear and conspicuous notice disclosing:

(1) a description of such facility and its operations, including its name, address and telephone number where it may be contacted to request disclosure of any medical information transmitted to it;

(2) the circumstances under which such facility may release such medical information to other persons; and

(3) such applicant's rights to request such facility to arrange disclosure of the nature and substance of any information in its files pertaining to him, and to seek correction of any inaccuracies or incompleteness of such information.

(b) Such notice shall be given to all applicants when any application for personal insurance is completed.

(c) No such facility shall release, transmit or otherwise communicate any medical information it may have to any other person unless such other person shall have in its possession a written instrument signed by the person who is the subject of medical information (or by a parent or guardian if such subject is a minor) specifically naming such facility and authorizing such other person to obtain such medical information from such facility.

(d) No such facility shall maintain information about HIV related test results pertaining to any individual unless such test results are included within a general code, which code is not designated solely for HIV related test results, and concerning which code no member of such facility may request from such facility details sufficient to determine whether the code was used to maintain information about HIV related test results.

For purposes of this subsection, an "HIV related test" means any laboratory test or series of tests for any virus, antibody, antigen or etiologic agent whatsoever thought to cause or to indicate the presence of AIDS.

N.Y. Ins. Law § 321