Does Your College Student (or Young Adult Child) Need a Power of Attorney?

We recently had a parent of a college age student come to us and ask us to draft Powers of Attorney for her college age daughters. The previous semester one of the girls had fallen sick with a severe case of the flu and needed to receive medical attention. When the mom called the school to get basic information on the young lady's condition, the school refused to release any information citing the HIPAA laws (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (pub. L. 104-191), 45 c.f.r. §§ 160 - 164). Is there any way around these HIPAA restrictions? Yes! If your young adult child is willing to give you a medical and/or general Power of Attorney, then you will be able to get the school authorities to talk to you. Call Elliott Legal Services at 610-738-7016 for more information or to schedule an appointment.