Gov't. Asks for Feedback On How Potential HIPAA Changes Could Impact Mental Health Reporting, Gun Purchases

The federal government is asking for feedback on  how updated HIPAA rules could impact reporting information about individuals' mental health conditions and whether they should be able to purchase guns.

The government is concerned that critical information is not being reported to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System out of fear of violating privacy concerns.

According to the advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (APRM): "Federal law does not require State agencies to report to the NICS the identities of individuals who are prohibited by Federal law from purchasing firearms, and not all states report complete information to the NICS. Therefore, the NICS Index does not include information about all individuals who are subject to one or more of the prohibited categories."

The APRM includes questions for providers regarding possible HIPAA changes. One of those questions is, "If the HIPAA Privacy Rule were to be amended to expressly permit disclosures of the identities of individuals covered by the mental health prohibitor to the NICS Index, would you still face any barriers to reporting?"

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