Cruises to start from US this month?????

[Luanne]

I've read the entire thread carefully. I don't know if they can ask for your vaccine status. It's HIPAA information and not even my workplace that is demanding all employees be vaccinated to return to the offices can ask us. Instead they've asked us to voluntarily identify.

Why is that a HIPAA violation? Schools ask for vaccine records for kids all the time.

You might find this interesting. I did.

Is it a HIPAA Violation to Ask for Proof of Vaccine Status?

According to several media sources, there appears to be a degree of confusion about the purpose of HIPAA and HIPAA compliance, who it applies to, and Can an employer ask an employee for proof of vaccine status or would that be in violation of HIPAA? Find out when asking about vaccine status is a...

www.hipaajournal.com

 

[pedro47]

They (the cruise line) cannot ask for vaccine status in the state of Florida. But once they sail into international waters (3 miles ) off the coast. A cruise line can ask for your vaccine status. IMHO.

 

[dioxide45]

They (the cruise line) cannot ask for vaccine status in the state of Florida. But once they sail into international waters (3 miles ) off the coast. A cruise line can ask for your vaccine status. IMHO.

What good does it do for them at that point, you are already on the ship.

 

[Luanne]

What good does it do for them at that point, you are already on the ship.

Maybe they can quarantine them in their cabin and put them off at the next stop. [Only partially kidding]

 

[Passepartout]

Cruise lines already ask all kinds of rather prying questions on embarkation. Like "Have you had diarrhea today?" or "Do you feel sick?" or "Got a fever?" Not sure about the int'l waters bit, but as long as they have facilities for unvaxxed onboard- separate dining- no shows, no pool access, limited shore excursions, let 'em ask. It's the unvaxxed that put themselves at risk.

 

[dioxide45]

Cruise lines already ask all kinds of rather prying questions on embarkation. Like "Have you had diarrhea today?" or "Do you feel sick?" or "Got a fever?" Not sure about the int'l waters bit, but as long as they have facilities for unvaxxed onboard- separate dining- no shows, no pool access, limited shore excursions, let 'em ask. It's the unvaxxed that put themselves at risk.

These forms were all theater. Here is the questions on the form vs. what they were really asking you;

Have you had diarrhea today? - Do you want to be denied boarding the ship today?
Do you feel sick? - Do you want to miss your vacation with no reimbursement from the cruise line?
Got a fever - Do you like the thought of a flight back home today at your expense?

Did anyone ever answer Yes to any of those questions?

 

[Passepartout]

Did anyone ever answer Yes to any of those questions?

If so, they'd only do it once. I suspect it is the same with unvaxxed.

 

[zentraveler]

I've read the entire thread carefully. I don't know if they can ask for your vaccine status. It's HIPAA information and not even my workplace that is demanding all employees be vaccinated to return to the offices can ask us. Instead they've asked us to voluntarily identify.

Yes, they are allowed to ask and no it is not a HIPPA violation. This is the beginning of an article from an article in the Washington Post May 22, 2021 (not posting link; it is behind a paywall and although I subscribe they seem to be oddly goofed up about online access):

Explaining HIPAA: No, it doesn’t ban questions about your vaccination status

HIPAA, which deals with health privacy, is one of the “most misunderstood statutes in existence,” one expert said.

By Allyson Chiu

I could not agree more; I am a physician and most MD's don't understand HIPAA at all except the important proviso that they cannot give out people's health info without their permission. Which is true, and important. Cruise lines can't call you MD and ask them for your status. But cruise lines, airlines etc. are allowed to ask. You don't need to answer, but they are allowed to tell you that passengers need to be vaccinated. There are several articles out there about the details (a hot topic these days and HIPAA comes up a lot) and a simple search will turn them up.

 

[TimeshareTraveller]

You are correct, they can ask. I was incorrect to use HIPAA, though workplaces still can't ask because of side-HIPAA issues that could arise. They are asking for self-identification if they hold your livelihood in their hands.

 

[zentraveler]

You are correct, they can ask. I was incorrect to use HIPAA, though workplaces still can't ask because of side-HIPAA issues that could arise. They are asking for self-identification if they hold your livelihood in their hands.

Not to belabor the point, but The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is a federal law that required the creation of national standards to protect sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without the patient's consent or knowledge. It protects people from others - MD's, insurance companies etc. - from disclosing their health information without explicit consent.

The whole vaccine issue is not a HIPAA issue, or a side-issue of it; no one is disclosing any information about anyone without their consent. It is related to employment law and what employees need or can be required to disclose themselves.

It is easy to see why these issues get conflated in the issue of confidentiality, but the central issue is not the same. Whatever one thinks about what employers should or should not be asking or for what reason, it is the employees who are in charge, not their physicians or their insurance company who are constrained by HIPAA.

 

[dioxide45]

I think employers generally avoid asking about health status to avoid lawsuits. If you perhaps disclose you are ill, they may want to avoid the added medical costs so they terminate the employee. Thus opening them up for a wrongful termination suit.

 

[mdurette]

Was it ever determined what caused the massive outbreaks on the cruise ships at the start of all of this? I can understand the easy spread being that alot of activities are indoors in rooms with a bunch of people. But, was it ever discovered if the ventilation systems had anything to do with it or not?