Opinion ID: 1678629
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: does hb 250 violate the privacy rights of the citizens of the commonwealth?

Text: Under HB 250, certain data are collected by the Health Policy Board (HPB) and used for various purposes. Appellants claim that such collection and dissemination constitutes an impermissible violation of a patient's constitutional right to privacy. There is a threshold issue here in that physician-appellants are not claiming that their own privacy rights have been violated or that they would be forced to violate the privacy rights of the citizens of the Commonwealth, but rather that the government would violate the privacy rights of the citizens of the Commonwealth. This immediately raises the question of whether appellants have standing to challenge HB 250 on this issue. In order to have standing in a lawsuit a party must have a judicially recognizable interest in the subject matter of the suit. Healthamerica Corp. v. Humana Health Plan, Ky., 697 S.W.2d 946 (1985). The interest of a plaintiff must be a present or substantial interest as distinguished from a mere expectancy. Winn v. First Bank of Irvington, Ky.App., 581 S.W.2d 21, 23 (1979). The issue of standing must be decided on the facts of each case. Rose v. Council for Better Education, Inc., Ky., 790 S.W.2d 186 (1989) (emphasis added); City of Louisville v. Stock Yards Bank & Trust, Ky., 843 S.W.2d 327 (1992). Simply because a plaintiff may be a citizen and a taxpayer is not in and of itself sufficient basis to assert standing. There must be a showing of a direct interest resulting from the ordinance. Cf. Carrico v. City of Owensboro, Ky., 511 S.W.2d 677 (1974); York v. Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad Co., 240 Ky. 114, 41 S.W.2d 668 (1931). City of Ashland v. Ashland F.O.P # 3, Inc., Ky., 888 S.W.2d 667, 668 (1994) (emphasis added). An individual is not allowed to bring a challenge to a law unless that party is allegedly being injured by the law. Winn v. First Bank of Irvington, Ky.App., 581 S.W.2d 21, 23 (1979) (holding that a party plaintiff must have a real, direct, present and substantial right or interest in the subject matter of the controversy). The misuse of the taxpayers' funds is one form of an alleged injury that can take place. Accordingly, any taxpayer of the Commonwealth is permitted to sue on this basis. However, since the privacy interest advanced by appellants is not directly related to the generation or expenditure of state funds, appellants do not have standing as taxpayers to challenge HB 250. Gillis v. Yount, Ky., 748 S.W.2d 357 (1988); Second Street Properties v. Fiscal Court of Jefferson County, Ky., 445 S.W.2d 709, 716 (1969). Appellant Joseph Janes is a patient of one of the physicians who is also an appellant in this suit. Accordingly, since as a patient under HB 250 certain information could be collected, Mr. Janes possesses the necessary alleged injury to be permitted to challenge HB 250 on privacy grounds. The Commonwealth has a long judicial tradition of leaving its citizens alone. Brents v. Morgan, 221 Ky. 765, 299 S.W. 967 (1927); Lewis v. Commonwealth, 197 Ky. 449, 247 S.W. 749 (1923); Commonwealth v. Smith, 163 Ky. 227, 173 S.W. 340 (1915); Adams Express Co. v. Commonwealth, 154 Ky. 462, 157 S.W. 908 (1913); Douglas v. Stokes, 149 Ky. 506, 149 S.W. 849 (1912); Hershberg v. City of Barbourville, 142 Ky. 60, 133 S.W. 985 (1911); Foster-Milburn Co. v. Chinn, 134 Ky. 424, 120 S.W. 364 (1909); Commonwealth v. Campbell, 133 Ky. 50, 117 S.W. 383 (1909);. Most recently this Court in Commonwealth v. Wasson, Ky., 842 S.W.2d 487, 491-92 (1992), made clear that the privacy rights guaranteed by the Kentucky Constitution exceed those granted by the United States Constitution. Accordingly, this Court takes very seriously the right of the citizens of the Commonwealth to be left alone, particularly in circumstances that involve governmental exercises of power. However, we find no such intrusion here. In the instant case, the data is collected for legitimate governmental purposes, and all privacy interests of the individual are carefully shielded. Section 9(1)(a)-(b) of HB 250 specifically shields the privacy of patients by protecting all information relating to patient identity from disclosure. Unless a court issues an order, all information regarding the identity of a patient is held confidential. While in no way denigrating the importance of confidentiality of a patient's medical records, we hold that no violation of privacy rights occurs as long as the patient's identity is fully and totally shielded from public examination.