[Iwo Jima]

Okay, guys, which is it? These rules have been in effect for 20 years or these are rules to be implemented?

You are both engaging in floating abstractions and will not or cannot answer the very simple question:

WHAT PROBLEM ARE WE TRYING TO SOLVE? Give me a concrete example of the way things have been done throughtout our entire lifetimes that you think is so totally unsupportable that we have to get the federal government to come in and straigthen us out?

Why don't we just scrap these rules altogether? Why are any rules needed?

[arkfreepdom]

The HIPPA rules are to be IMPLEMENTED in 4/03 but with the current outcry they will be changed as THIS article states is already in taking place. This whole thing was started because of the advent of electronic medical records and concern over their security. As usual with the government it has blossomed into a whole set of heavy-handed regs with little attention to the problem they were asked to address.

That as simple of an explanation as I can give. There have always been rules about privacy, etc. This is a whole new set of regs.

[Dave S]

Okay, guys, which is it? These rules have been in effect for 20 years or these are rules to be implemented?

Guess you cant read. Being in the works doesnt mean they are law, it means that they have been discussed and everyone knew that at some point there would be regulations. HIPAA was passed by Republican congress in the late 90's. The clinton administration tried to write rules to implement these laws but screwed them up so bad they had to put them on hold. Bush came in to office and has rewritten the rules to make them reasonable. They are not Bush's doing. He's merely making the best of what was passed by congress. The purpose is to protect our medical privacy which today can be sold to outside marketing firms by the insurance companies or can be used by sister companies of the Insurance firms that do marketing.