February 14, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
Hospital fund raisers won a major victory when Congress passed a measure Friday to provide $787-billion to stimulate the economy.
The compromise version of the measure knocked out a provision passed by the House of Representatives that would have restricted fund raisers from gaining access to the names and addresses of patients. Fund raisers often use that information to identify and solicit potential donors.
The House passed the restriction out of concern about patients’ privacy. While the final measure dropped the restriction on what fund raisers could obtain, it toughened rules that require hospitals to offer patients the option of rejecting any further communications from hospitals and medical centers. It also increased the penalties for violating patient-privacy regulations.
