Hi. The medical practice I go to was recently taken over by AIDS Healthcare Foundation. When they took over, they assured all their patients that the work "AIDS" would not appear in any communications, as they realized the sensitivity of the issue. Sure enough, my EOB's all list the provider as AIDS Healthcare Foundation. My health insurance is provided by my partner's employer, and is self-funded. As a result, there is now a record of his being treated at an AIDS clinic, and implies a diagnosis that does not apply to him. I have been trying to get AHF to correct the way its name appears on our EOB's for over six months now. I get lots of lip service, and assurances that the problem has been fixed, but the problem continues. Does this constitute a voilation of any privacy laws, HIPPA, or medical ethics regulations? It seems to be a major violation of patient privacy, as my partner's employer will have access to this information.

I don't know if there is any violation of citing the actual name of the facility. You should speak to legal counsel about this. The EOB is merely rflecting who billed the health plan.