The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions ("FACT") Act, signed into Public Law 108-159 on December 4, 2003, is a consumer credit law that includes medical privacy provisions. FACT amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), adding improved protections against identity theft and adding limits on how medical information is used. Consumer reports that contain medical information cannot be shared, unless the consumer consents in the case of an insurance transaction or in the case of an employment or credit transaction. Creditors are prohibited from obtaining or using medical information in connection with determining credit eligibility. The Health Privacy Project criticizes the law because it preempts states from enacting stronger laws to protect consumers. The definition of "medical information" in Section 603(i) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a(i)) is amended to mean "information or data, whether oral or recorded, in any form or medium, created by or derived from a health care provider or the consumer that relates to (A) the past, present, or future physical, mental, or behavioral health or condition of an individual; (B) the provision of health care to an individual; or (c) the payment for the provision of health care to an individual" and "does not include the age or gender of a consumer, demographic information about the consumer, including a consumer's residence address or e-mail address, or any other information about a consumer that does not relate to the physical, mental, or behavioral health or condition of a consumer, including the existence or value of any insurance policy."

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