Few people actually read the fine print disclosures they receive; nothing new. Maybe this careless behavior is the by product of fine print being too fine. I rummaged through the fine print after receiving my HIPPA Notice of Privacy Practices from my current health care insurance provider by way of snail mail. After reading the small pamphlet a wave of anxiety washed over me realizing a fact I had known all along. ALL of your private life is readily available to “commercial partners” for use in anyway they see fit and there is really nothing you can do about it. This is important information; I do not want my medical history floating around to companies so that they can try to sell me something to which I have no interest. Here are some of the more humorous excerpts from the doc:

Health Related Services: We may use your Personal Health Information (PHI) to contact you with information about health-related benefits and services or about treatment alternatives that may be of interest to you. We may disclose your PHI to a business associate to assist in these activities.

Wait it gets better…

We may use or disclose your PHI to encourage you to purchase or use a product or service by face-to-face communication of to provide you with promotional gifts.

No thank you – just pay what you are contracted to pay on my behalf. I really do not want shit from your loosely affiliated businesses.

Restriction: You have the right to request that we place additional restrictions on our use or disclosure of your PHI. We are not required to agree to these additional restrictions, but if we do, we will abide by our agreement.

That statement instills a lot of confidence.

There is some other shit in here that if you request a list of when and to whom your PHI was disclosed they will charge you a “reasonable fee” to be determined at a later date.

I really enjoy being serviced from the back side by a company I had nearly no alternative choice. Do not even get me started on mail-in prescription plans for which you have no choice and are forced to comply with their appalling customer service. Being held hostage by your insurance company is truly an enjoyable experience.

Update: Health insurers build up market clout - case in point.