(a) No person or entity engaged in the business of furnishing administrative services to programs that provide payment for health care services shall knowingly use, disclose, or permit its employees or agents to use or disclose medical information possessed in connection with performing administrative functions for a program, except as reasonably necessary in connection with the administration or maintenance of the program, or as required by law, or with an authorization.
(b) An authorization required by this section shall be in the same form as described in Section 56.21, except that “third party administrator” shall be substituted for “employer” wherever it appears in Section 56.21.
(c) This section shall not apply to any person or entity that is subject to the Insurance Information Privacy Act or to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 56.10) or Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 56.20).