# HHS seeks access to medical records through Nebraska health exchange  
**Published:** 2026-06-04T20:23:45.000Z  
**Source:** [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/04/rfk-jr-seeks-to-peek-at-americans-medical-records-for-clues-on-autism-and-vaccines/)  
**AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001)  
**Canonical:** https://lincolne.news/article/hhs-seeks-access-to-medical-records-through-nebraska-health-exchange

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is pursuing federal government access to most Americans' medical records in a quest to research a link between vaccines and autism — a connection the medical establishment studied for decades and flatly rejects, according to [reporting by the Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/04/rfk-jr-seeks-to-peek-at-americans-medical-records-for-clues-on-autism-and-vaccines/).

The Department of Health and Human Services is seeking data from state systems that allow hospitals and clinics to exchange detailed patient information. In private meetings, some public health leaders have objected to the effort, raising concerns about privacy protections and whether sharing such data is legal.

Nebraska has emerged as a key partner in the initiative. [CyncHealth](https://cynchealth.org/), the state's health information exchange used by most hospitals and health systems, received millions in federal and state funding following a presentation to Kennedy's team in October. The CDC awarded Nebraska's health department $18.7 million in December — the most of any state despite Nebraska being the 38th most populous — through its Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity program. CyncHealth then received three contracts totaling $13.6 million from the state in January, with officials confirming the money was intended to supply data for Kennedy's initiative.

The former leader of CyncHealth, Jaime Bland, who earned nearly $420,000 annually, left in December to become chief data strategist for the MAHA Institute, a think tank founded by allies of Kennedy and Trump. She has publicly supported sharing medical records data with the federal government for vaccine research.

Kennedy said in May that medical records are key to investigating autism causes, vaccine safety and chronic diseases. "We need a good health record system," he said. "We now have databases together that we can actually do the studies on. Those studies are in motion."

However, HHS has not publicly announced any new projects involving medical records and autism or vaccine research. An HHS spokesperson declined to answer questions about how many states are participating, what data is being collected, federal spending on the initiative, or how patient privacy will be protected.

Maryland's health information exchange declined to participate, noting that sharing medical records for vaccine research would require numerous approvals and a clear framework outlining data-sharing specifics. Indiana officials said they are still weighing the proposal.

Kennedy previously faced blowback when he proposed compiling medical records of people with autism to create a federal disease registry. He has rejected the federal government's current vaccine-monitoring systems; decades of research show immunizations are safe and effective for most people.

## Sources

- [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/04/rfk-jr-seeks-to-peek-at-americans-medical-records-for-clues-on-autism-and-vaccines/)
- [CyncHealth Nebraska health information exchange](https://cynchealth.org/)

---

This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Nebraska Examiner, enriched with 3 web searches. The original source is available at https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/04/rfk-jr-seeks-to-peek-at-americans-medical-records-for-clues-on-autism-and-vaccines/.