N.Y. Insurance Law § 321: Medical information exchange centers

§ 321. Medical information exchange centers. (a) Whenever any

insurance company (which is a member of a medical information exchange

center or which otherwise may transmit medical information in whatever

manner to any other similar facility including but not limited to an

electronic data facility used by two or more insurance companies to

determine or aid in determining the insurability of applicants) requests

medical information from any applicant for personal insurance, it shall

not transmit, nor be considered to have obtained the applicant's

informed consent to transmit, the information to any such facility

unless such company furnishes such applicant with a clear and

conspicuous notice disclosing:

(1) a description of such facility and its operations, including its

name, address and telephone number where it may be contacted to request

disclosure of any medical information transmitted to it;

(2) the circumstances under which such facility may release such

medical information to other persons; and

(3) such applicant's rights to request such facility to arrange

disclosure of the nature and substance of any information in its files

pertaining to him, and to seek correction of any inaccuracies or

incompleteness of such information.

(b) Such notice shall be given to all applicants when any application

for personal insurance is completed.

(c) No such facility shall release, transmit or otherwise communicate

any medical information it may have to any other person unless such

other person shall have in its possession a written instrument signed by

the person who is the subject of medical information (or by a parent or

guardian if such subject is a minor) specifically naming such facility

and authorizing such other person to obtain such medical information

from such facility.

(d) No such facility shall maintain information about HIV related test

results pertaining to any individual unless such test results are

included within a general code, which code is not designated solely for

HIV related test results, and concerning which code no member of such

facility may request from such facility details sufficient to determine

whether the code was used to maintain information about HIV related test

results.

For purposes of this subsection, an "HIV related test" means any

laboratory test or series of tests for any virus, antibody, antigen or

etiologic agent whatsoever thought to cause or to indicate the presence

of AIDS.