Attor­ney Gen­er­al Ken Pax­ton Sues Biden Admin­is­tra­tion Over Ille­gal Rule that Would Weak­en State Law Enforce­ment and Inves­ti­ga­tion Authority

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, and other Biden Administration officials to stop a new rule that would unlawfully restrict state law enforcement investigations. This change directly contradicts Congress’s intent, as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) includes provisions designed to preserve states’ investigative authority where health information may need to be accessed. 

Earlier this year, in response to the Supreme Court’s decision in the Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization case which returned the power to regulate abortion to the states, HHS issued a rule that restricts the circumstances when medical providers may share information with state law enforcement officials. With this rule, the Biden Administration makes a backdoor attempt at weakening Texas’s laws by undermining state law enforcement investigations that implicate medical procedures. The Biden Administration’s motive is clear: to subvert lawful state investigations on issues that the Courts have said the States may investigate.

The original HIPAA statute as written by the United States Congress explicitly preserves the investigative authority of State law enforcement, and the law in no way gives HHS the authority to allow HIPAA-regulated institutions to refuse to cooperate with State investigations. Attorney General Paxton asked the court to vacate the rule, as well as a previously implemented related rule, and to prevent HHS from enforcing these unlawful regulations. 

“This new rule actively undermines Congress’s clear statutory meaning when HIPAA was passed, and it reflects the Biden Administration’s disrespect for the law,” said Attorney General Paxton. “The federal government is attempting to undermine Texas’s law enforcement capabilities, and I will not allow this to happen.”

To read the filing, click here.