HIPAA
Will the ER call the cops on you? is a humorous YouTube short from a comedian who has been some kind of medical professional, like a nurse. I'm not sure what.
And it assures you "We won't call the cops on you for stuff like drugs and alcohol, even if you are underaged." It's a scenario with a 19 year patient who has had alcohol and marijuana in a state where that's illegal at that age.
I processed insurance claims and had annual HIPAA training. I don't know how accurate the information is on that detail and I don't know how much that varies by state.
If something like that concerns you, look up laws for the US state you are in. Some states are like "Alcohol is irrelevant legally for blah blah blah!" And others are not.
I'm posting this because at the end, the guy says "You won't tell my parents?? I'm on their insurance." And he's told nope.
My understanding is that's correct. If you are eighteen or over, you are a legal adult and you have a right to medical privacy, even though Obamacare means you may be on your parents insurance until age twenty six.
HIPAA doesn't apply to everyone. It applies to medical personnel and insurance companies and stuff related to that.
But we had to send disclosure and apology letters if we sent your insurance letter to your parents by mistake, even if you were Dad's Name Jr. and still lived with Dad.
It gets flakey for some people who think it's silly. I've been on email lists where people were laughing about "I turned 18. I need my own login now. DAD helped me set it up! What a joke!"
For some people, there's nothing funny about it. If you get pregnant, get sexually assaulted, get an STD, anything potentially controversial and Mom and Dad are conservative church goers, you may be very hesitant to seek medical care if you think your parents will get wind of it.
They may, but the hospital and insurance company aren't supposed to be how they hear it.
Before HIPAA existed, I was on birth control at seventeen. Years later, my mom told me she knew because she was friends with the pharmacist who told her.
That's now illegal. It probably wasn't at the time and my mom never said a word to me and it didn't become a problem, but you may be able to sue if someone discloses something like that unlawfully and it causes you material harm, like they kick you out of the house.
You may just be able to sound environmentally friendly: "I'll go the paperless option! Thanks!"
And Gramm-Leach-Bliley is another federal law about financial institutions that applies to insurance. I don't actually remember what that's about, but I had annual training in that too.
Insurance is heavily regulated and I once gave someone a courtesy call because I had asked two or three times for proper authorization and it was never filled out properly. I could have sent a letter saying basically "We will reopen this claim when we get authorization." but I'm trying to be nice.
So I call and I'm getting attitude and she says something snippy about not wanting to pay her and company policy and I told her "No, ma'am. That's Federal policy. I can't get these records without this." She changed her tune and listened as I walked her through where I needed the signature etc.
Every US state has an insurance commissioner. This is a consumer advocate. If you really get frustrated, you should be able to call them for free and ask some questions so you at least know your rights.
I'm not suggesting you leap to "I'll SUE! GRRR!" I'm suggesting you find out what is going on.
Some hospitals have a social worker or other patient advocate who may be able to help you with things like insurance paperwork.
If it's something uncommon, I encourage you to assume "stupidity" and inexperience on the part of the claims processor. If it's not something they see twenty times a day, they can make mistakes.
It's a big bureaucracy. My father was military. My husband was military. I'm comfortable with bureaucracies.
Some people don't get it and leap to assuming the worst.
In my experience -- which was some years ago, so may no longer be true -- hospitals generally were more up on the federal regulations. Doctor's offices were more likely to not be that clued.
An emergency room is part of a hospital. They should know HIPAA like the back of their hand.