Giffords, Jobs Present Different Sides of Health Disclosures

Thursday, 20 January 2011 | by Pat's Picks

Why do we get detailed medical information about Rep. Gabrielle Giffords but know next to nothing about the health of Steve Jobs? San Francisco Chronicle columnist Kathleen Pender rightly points out that both are “public figures of intense national interest.” But no details accompanied this week’s announcement of Jobs’ medical leave. In contrast, Giffords process has been painstakingly described by most media outlets. So what gives?

Pender says under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, hospitals have no obligation to release patient information, regardless of whether a patient is a public figure or not. We know so much about Giffords’ condition, says Pender, because her husband authorized the release. Jobs, on the other hand, has kept mum. The SEC does have a rule that forces public companies to disclose the health of their leaders but only “if the CEO has an illness that is immediately life threatening, requires a leave of more than three months or affects the CEO’s ability to do his or her job reliably.”