Trump's doctor invoked HIPAA to avoid talking about his lung scans. Trump could've waived it.
President Trump's doctor won't talk about his lung scans, and reporters think that can't be good.
On his fourth day in the hospital after his coronavirus diagnosis, Trump's oxygen levels dropped several times, though he was still expected to leave the hospital that evening, Trump's doctor Sean Conley said Monday. But when Conley was asked what CT scans of Trump's lungs revealed, he shut down, citing HIPAA privacy regulations.
HIPAA would prevent Conley from getting into detail about Trump's lung scans, but it also probably would've stopped him from disclosing Trump's oxygen levels , and that he determined Trump was not "entirely out of the woods yet." Trump was also completely at liberty to revoke those protections and let Conley fully inform the public about his condition. CBS News' Kathryn Watson guessed Trump's refusal to do so meant Trump's CT scans held bad news.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Conley also refused to disclose when Trump last tested negative for COVID-19, though he didn't mention privacy and instead claimed he "didn't want to go backwards" — something contact tracing relies on.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Did Trump just end the US-Europe alliance?Today's Big Question New US national security policy drops ‘grenade’ on Europe and should serve as ‘the mother of all wake-up calls’
-
How the War Department became the Department of Defense – and back againIn Depth In 1947 President Harry Truman restructured the US military establishment, breaking with naming tradition
-
Codeword: December 8, 2025The daily codeword puzzle from The Week
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
-
Americans traveling abroad face renewed criticism in the Trump eraThe Explainer Some of Trump’s behavior has Americans being questioned
-
UN Security Council backs Trump’s Gaza peace planSpeed Read The United Nations voted 13-0 to endorse President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to withdraw Israeli troops from Gaza
-
Chile picks leftist, far-right candidates for runoff voteSpeed Read The presidential runoff election will be between Jeannette Jara, a progressive from President Gabriel Boric’s governing coalition, and far-right former congressman José Antonio Kast
-
Venezuela mobilizes as top US warship nearsSpeed Read The largest and most advanced US aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, has entered the Caribbean and put Venezuela on high alert
-
Nigeria confused by Trump invasion threatSpeed Read Trump has claimed the country is persecuting Christians
-
Gaza ceasefire teeters as Netanyahu orders strikesSpeed Read Israel accused Hamas of firing on Israeli troops
