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Man Holds Up American Airlines Flight Claiming HIPAA Rights Over Not Wearing a Face Mask
Best-selling conservative author David J. Harris Jr. held up an entire American Airlines flight on Saturday, claiming he could not wear a face mask due to medical reasons – and then saying American could not ask about his conditions because it violated his HIPAA rights. Harris laid out his concerns in a video shot while he was still on board the plane and posted to his Instagram account, as outlined by the Mediaite website. “So because I declared that I have a medical reason to not wear a mask,… (www.msn.com) More...
As a doctor, I can tell you the HIPAA law prevents me, as a doc, from discussing your medical care without your consent. It does not bar the airlines from asking YOU to prove your medical exemption. In fact, the ADA doesn't either. The ADA requires public entities to provide reasonable accomodation for disabled folks, but not private businesses. Nor are those private businesses expected to provide any accomodation outside of proof of disability. If you have a breathing condition outside of anxiety that makes mask wearing difficult, you are at a higher risk of Covid complications and have no business leaving home, let alone sitting in a plane.
THANK YOU!!!!!
I agree with you 100% here, except for one small thing. The Air Carrier Access Act does require the airlines to provide accommodation for certain disabilities, let alone give the airlines the right to ask for documentation to prove that the disability the passenger has is real.
For example, service animals If the traveler is blind, obviously the harness on the service animal is all the proof the airline needs. For ESAs, the airline does have the right to ask the passenger for documentation of the need for the ESA, plus that documentation must be from the physician who diagnosed the passenger, and on their letterhead, so it can be verified. If the passenger can't provide that, the airline can boot them off.
For example, service animals If the traveler is blind, obviously the harness on the service animal is all the proof the airline needs. For ESAs, the airline does have the right to ask the passenger for documentation of the need for the ESA, plus that documentation must be from the physician who diagnosed the passenger, and on their letterhead, so it can be verified. If the passenger can't provide that, the airline can boot them off.
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