Bill As Introducedh.371

BILL AS INTRODUCEDH.371

1999Page 1

H.371

Introduced by Representatives Metzger of Milton, Allard of St. Albans Town, Anderson of Woodstock, Angell of Randolph, Atkins of Winooski, Baker of West Rutland, Barbieri of Wallingford, Barney of Highgate, Blanchard of Essex, Bourdeau of Hyde Park, Bristol of Brattleboro, Brown of Walden, Clark of St. Johnsbury, Cleland of Northfield, Cross of Winooski, Dakin of Colchester, DePoy of Rutland City, Dominick of Starksboro, Dunne of Hartland, Edwards of Swanton, Flaherty of South Burlington, Follett of Springfield, Freed of Dorset, Fyfe of Newport City, Gervais of Enosburg, Ginevan of Middlebury, Gray of Barre Town, Gretkowski of Burlington, Hathaway of Barton, Holmes of Bethel, Howrigan of Fairfield, Hube of Londonderry, Hudson of Lyndon, Hyde of Fayston, Johnson of Canaan, Kinsey of Craftsbury, Krasnow of Charlotte, Krawczyk of Bennington, LaBarge of Grand Isle, Larocque of Barnet, Larrabee of Danville, Lehman of Hartford, Livingston of Manchester, Maslack of Poultney, Mazur of South Burlington, McGrath of Ferrisburgh, Milne of Washington, Molloy of Arlington, Morrissey of Bennington, Mullin of Rutland Town, Neiman of Georgia, Nitka of Ludlow, O'Donnell of Vernon, Parizo of Essex, Pike of Mendon, Pratt of Castleton, Randall of Bradford, Richardson of Weathersfield, Rivero of Milton, Robb of Swanton, Rusten of Halifax, Schiavone of Shelburne, Severance of Colchester, Sheltra of Derby, Sherman of St. Johnsbury, Smith of New Haven, Starr of Troy, Suchmann of Chester, Symington of Jericho, Towne of Berlin, Tracy of Burlington, Waite of Pawlet, Wheeler of Burlington, Willett of St. Albans City, Winters of Williamstown and Young of Orwell

Referred to Committee on

Date:

Subject:Health; Gulf War veterans; Gulf War Syndrome; registry; creation

Statement of purpose: This bill proposes to create a state registry for incidents of Gulf War Syndrome.

AN ACT RELATING TO CREATION OF A GULF WAR SYNDROME REGISTRY

It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:

Sec. 1. 18 V.S.A. chapter 4A is added to read:

Chapter 4A. Gulf War Syndrome Registry

§ 166. DEFINITIONS

For the purposes of this chapter,

(1) “Gulf War Syndrome” means any symptom, disease, affliction, or exacerbation of a preexisting medical condition that affected any military or nonmilitary governmental personnel who served or were stationed in or near locations of military action related to the Gulf War, and those symptoms, diseases, afflictions, or exacerbations began while or within two years following the tour of duty in the war zone of the Gulf War.

(2) “Health care provider” has the same meaning as the term is given in section 9432 of this title.

§ 167. GULF WAR SYNDROME REGISTRY; ESTABLISHED

(a) The commissioner shall establish a uniform statewide population-based Gulf War Syndrome registry system for the collection of information regarding the incidence of Gulf War Syndrome and related data. The secretary, in consultation with the United States Veterans’ Administration and the National Institutes of Health, shall adopt rules necessary to effect the purposes of this chapter, including the type and extent of data to be reported and the time frames during which reporting shall be required.

(b) All incidents of Gulf War Syndrome diagnosed or treated in the state shall be reported to the health department or other person authorized by the commissioner to compile the data, provided the patient signs an authorization permitting the reporting of the patient’s health care information.

(c) The commissioner shall:

(1) Establish a training program for the personnel of participating health care facilities and a quality control program for this data.

(2) Collaborate in studies with the United States Veterans’ Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and any other clinicians and epidemiologists by providing data and assisting in the publication of the results of the studies.

§ 168. PARTICIPATION

(a) Any health care facility or health care provider that has diagnosed or treated a patient who suffers from Gulf War Syndrome shall report each case to the commissioner within 120 days after first treatment, diagnosis, or admission. If a health care facility fails to report in the format prescribed by the commissioner, the commissioner may enter the facility, obtain the information, and report it in the appropriate format. In these cases, the facility shall reimburse the commissioner for any costs associated with acquiring the information. A health care facility or health care provider that diagnoses, treats, or admits a patient who suffers from Gulf War Syndrome after the case has been reported under this section is not required to report the case again.

(b) A health care facility or a health care provider that diagnoses or treats a patient for Gulf War Syndrome shall report to the commissioner any additional demographic, diagnostic, or treatment information requested by the commissioner concerning any individual who was diagnosed or treated for Gulf War Syndrome. The commissioner shall have access to all records that identify cases of Gulf War Syndrome or records that would help to establish characteristics of the syndrome or treatment or medical status of any identified Gulf War Syndrome patient. Willful denial of access to the medical records shall be punishable by a fine of no more than $500.00 for each day access is denied.

§ 169. CONFIDENTIALITY

(a) All information reported or acquired pursuant to this chapter shall be confidential and privileged and shall be used only for the purposes of studies. The commissioner shall take all protective measures to assure the ongoing confidentiality of the information.

(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the commissioner from publishing statistical compilations relating to morbidity and mortality studies that do not identify any individual or any sources of information.

§ 170. DISCLOSURE

(a) The commissioner may enter into agreements to exchange confidential information with Gulf War Syndrome registries in other states in order to obtain and provide complete reports on residents of Vermont who have been diagnosed or treated in other states, and to provide information to out-of-state registries regarding residents of other states who have been diagnosed or treated in Vermont.

(b) The commissioner may furnish confidential information to Gulf War Syndrome registries in other states, federal health care agencies, or health researchers in order to collaborate with any national Gulf War Syndrome registry or in treatment and diagnostic research studies. The commissioner shall enter into a written agreement with other state registries that assures the confidentiality of the information. The commissioner shall also obtain evidence that any research projects have obtained the approval of their academic committee in accordance with 45 CFR 66.

§ 171. LIABILITY

(a) No action for damages arising from the disclosure of confidential or privileged information may be maintained against any person, any individual, or the employer or employee of any individual who reports Gulf War Syndrome data in accordance with this chapter.

(b) The license of a health care facility or health care provider may not be denied, suspended, or revoked for the good faith disclosure of any confidential or privileged information related to Gulf War Syndrome data made in accordance with this chapter.

(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to protect any person from liability for negligent or unauthorized disclosure of confidential or privileged information.