Original post here, a reproduction follows:

I consider it a point of personal pride that I am able, willing and happy to acquire employment that allows me to provide health insurance for myself and my children. In fact, when I became unemployed in June of 2012 I made it a point to turn down several offers that would have gotten me off the dole because they did not provide health insurance.

… in case you’re wondering; Geek Squad was my “last resort” and until I was picked up by my current employer it was starting to become my only resort.

Starting the first of this year I was the proud provider of health insurance again. This came at a very interesting time because I was being taken back for a support review. The reason I say “interesting” is because when I landed the job at the-employer-before-this-one and received around the same pay I was told that it was “no big deal” and that I could “spend the money on the kids” and that she would not seek recalculation. After our most recent incident she walked right up to the window after our visit with the conciliator and asked to have the paperwork for a support review.

If you don’t see what I’m getting at, read it again. I’ll wait.

I have no problem with a support review; I’m making more money than her and her unemployment runs out in five weeks because she’s been unable to find a job in a year and a half (another point of personal pride; I was on unemployment for only three months). When I received the courts recommendation I noticed that my health insurance was not factored in to the support agreement so I objected, showed up in court with my proof and the support was recalculated. There was an increase, but it was nowhere near the size-able one that had originally been proposed.

Tonight I ran into what is most likely going to be another long, drawn out bitch-fest on behalf of my ex-wife: She wanted, demanded access to the website of my insurance provider so that she could locate a doctor that took my insurance and find out what the medications for our sons cost. I refused and instead provided her with the public directory and a copy-and-paste recap of what I was able to find for medication co-pays. She said that she had a right to be provided with the account information and should be able to access her children’s medical records. I agreed with her but I told her that she would still not be getting access.

At this point I’m sure you’re asking why I would do this to myself and the reasons are twofold:

  1. There is no way to keep her to only my children’s information; she would be able to view my medical records if she so chose and that brings me to the second reason:

  2. HIPAA aka “I don’t want you to and I have the law on my side when I refuse”

HIPAA (or the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act) states that a citizen, with certain exceptions, has control over their own medical information including who gets to see it, what it’s used for and, more importantly who gets to see it (yes, that was intentional). There are a host of other topics and regulations that HIPAA covers but that is the most relevant; my ex-wife has no right to see which doctors I’m seeing and for what reasons, nor does she have the right to know what medications I’m taking or for what reasons. I don’t care how many times she reassures me that she won’t access my information, I don’t want her anywhere near my medical records and unless there is a way to prevent her access I’m not going to give her the username and password for my account unless I am ordered to do so by a judge and even then at lengthy protest.

I know that sounds high and mighty, but what my doctor sticks in to me and the reasons he does it are between him and I. He can tell other doctors but he has to ask me if it’s OK first or have me sign something that says I’m aware that he might go and do it. Anything else carries a hefty fine and penalty that nobody wants to deal with.

So we’re at loggerheads; she insists that she should have the account information because she has full physical custody of my boys and I’m refusing to give it to her on the grounds that it will give her access to information that she has no right to. The law is very clear on my end of it so I’ve made multiple attempts to give her the information that she wants. She will, as of tomorrow, be able to call in to either the healthcare or prescription telephone lines and access any information that they can provide but I’m going to make them aware that she is only to have access to my boy’s information. I don’t see this being a problem because when I was working in a medical laboratory we were allowed to make “notes” that covered issues that couldn’t be solved by a drop-down menu or a check box.

She, by the way, told me in a phone conversation that she was going to take this in front of a judge. I told her that she was well within her rights to do so and I’d keep an eye out for the court paperwork.

I got hung up on for that one.

I’ve given her every option available, including walking her through using the non-member section of the website in order to find doctor information. I’ve told her that there is a phone number that she can call to check prescription coverage. She has access to all the information, it just might take a little phone-work on her part to do it, which is exactly what I have to do when it comes to getting information from my sons’ physician or the teeth-pulling exercise in futility that’s been attempting to get anything from the psychologist they see.

I only have one question: In wanting her out of my medical records am I taking this too far? Is the poking the proverbial bull in the field? Am I just being a jerk?

I don’t think I am, but I don’t always know.

TL;DR: A report by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in 1995 indicated that between 1978 and 1995 no less than 37 deaths in the U.S. were credited to vending machines. (How much do you really want that Snickers?)