Hi, I appreciate any help you can offer for my situation. Today, both my same sex partner and I had our yearly physical examinations. I have been to this office before and my spouse (who I have a domestic partnership with in NY and a legal marriage from MA) has come into the room with me before at this practice. My spouse was called first. The nurse rudely stated that I would not be allowed into the room for her physical exam as this was office policy. This didn t seem fair as just a few weeks ago, my spouse came into the room with me when I went in for a breathing test due to a prolonged asthmatic episode. The nurse would not give any reasoning for this and just said that this rule applied to the yearly physical exams. By her attitude, I immediately got the feeling that she was denying us access because we are a same sex couple. After much arguing, she nastily stated that she would just let the doctor deal with it. Both my spouse and I are on the same insurance policy and have signed the appropriate forms to have information released to each other. I have certification in HIPAA as I work in the mental health field and have never seen anything like this. My spouse wanted me to come into the room with her and verbally agreed. What is the deal?