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WASHINGTON, D.C. — America’s Community Bankers reaffirmed its support today for a requirement that financial institutions obtain a consumer’s permission before using private medical information in lending decisions.

In a statement to the House Banking Committee, which conducted a hearing on proposed medical privacy legislation, ACB said it continues to support public policy that would require lenders to receive affirmative consent from a consumer before individually identifiable health information can be disclosed to another party.

ACB said the vast majority of its members do not have access to customers’ medical information and do not seek such information in making loan or credit decisions.

ACB said it supported the efforts of Committee Chairman Jim Leach (R-Iowa) to include an opt-in requirement in last year’s Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, but Congress decided instead to wait until the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services developed federal standards by regulation. “We encourage Congress to refrain from passing additional legislation before all currently authorized regulatory remedies, such as the regulations being developed by HHS, are exhausted,” ACB said.

A copy of the statement is linked.