SPOTLIGHT: State HIPAA laws may be tougher than federal laws

As the recent case of records snooping at California's Kaiser Bellflower hospital demonstrates, state health data protection laws can be tougher than federal HIPAA law--and enforcement on the state-level can be tougher too, as the pair of six-figure fines suffered by the hospital suggests. And while California may be a pioneer, don't expect it to be the last. Expect states to crack down on health data privacy across the United States, experts suggest. Article