President Obama saved a lot of lives. Mental health being added to background checks is astounding.

[Cerridwen]

32. I found an article that discusses the HIPAA rule change...

I found an article that discusses the HIPAA rule change. It includes a bit of the history of reporting and the complexity and reasons for this rule change.

http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20160106/NEWS/160109963

HIPAA rule change part of move to fight gun violence
By Joseph Conn | January 6, 2016

Only a few healthcare organizations report to the federal database that conducts background searches on people who want to buy guns, but those groups will get a little more latitude through a final HHS rule that's part of a White House package announced this week aimed at combating gun violence.

A change to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act clarifies who can share data with the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). HHS says the rule change will facilitate the flow of information from providers to NICS.

<snip>

Under the old privacy rule, reporting to NICS was not allowed under the HIPAA exemption when law enforcement agencies inquired about a person. Disclosures were also not permitted even if the person posed a serious threat to health or safety, according to HHS.

<snip>

But even with that workaround, many states, concerned about violating HIPAA law, which carries penalties of up to $50,000 per violation and prison sentences of up to 10 years in cases where the information was used for financial gain, were not reporting to NICS.

<snip to much more at link>

I bolded the part that I think highlights why the rule change was needed.

Oh, and BTW, heya, josh. How the heck ya doing?