Health and Human Services Seeking Comments Before Modifying HIPPA Rules Concerning Mental Illness Reporting to Background Check System
National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS)
The NICS is a computerized system for determining eligibility to purchase a firearm in the United States. Federal Firearms License holders use the NICS to determine if they are able to sell a firearm to a prospective purchaser. The program was created as a result of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 and is administered by the FBI. Firearm sales can only be made if the buyer is not prohibited from buying a firearm under the Gun Control Act of 1968.The sources of information in NICS
The information in NICS is obtained from the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and the Interstate Identification Index (III). NICS Index also contains information that may not be in the NCIC or the III systems. Information is gathered from local, state, tribal, and federal agencies of persons prohibited from obtaining firearms.Reasons to prohibit purchases
According to the FBI, Section 922(g) of the Gun Control Act prohibits shipping or transporting any firearm in interstate or foreign commerce, or receiving any firearm which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce, or possessing any firearm in or affecting commerce. These prohibitions apply to any person who:- Has been convicted in any court of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year
- Is under indictment for a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year
- Is a fugitive from justice
- Is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance
- Has been adjudicated as a mental defective or committed to a mental institution
- Is an alien illegally or unlaw-fully in the United States or who has been admitted to the United States under a nonimmigrant visa.
- Has been discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions
- Having been a citizen of the United States, has renounced U.S. citizenship
- Is subject to a court order that restrains the person from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or child of such intimate partner
- Has been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence
 |
| http://www.healthandfitnessvault.net/ |
Mental Health Exclusion
The NICS Section receives telephone calls from mental health institutions, psychiatrists, police departments, and family members requesting placement of individuals into the NICS Index. Frequently, these are emergency situations and require immediate attention. Any documentation justifying a valid entry into the NICS Index must be available to the originating agencies.HHS seeks to clarify HIPPA rules related to reporting
Health and Human Services published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on January 7, 2014, to remove unnecessary legal barriers under the HIPAA Privacy Rule that may prevent states from reporting certain information to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). The NICS helps to ensure that guns are not sold to those prohibited by law from having them, including felons, those convicted of domestic violence, and individuals involuntarily committed to a mental institution. However, the background check system is only as effective as the information that is available to it.The goal is to remove barriers
On April 23, 2013, the Department published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) requesting the public’s input on how HIPAA may affect some states’ ability to report to the NICS and ways in which these barriers could be addressed without discouraging individuals from seeking mental health services. Over 2,000 comments were received from individuals, state agencies, health care providers, professional organizations, consumer advocacy groups, and other stakeholders. After considering the public comments received, the Department developed a NPRM, which proposes to modify the HIPAA Privacy Rule to permit certain HIPAA-covered entities to disclose to the NICS the identities of persons prohibited by federal law from possessing or receiving a firearm for reasons related to mental health.Would grant permission, not requirement, to submit minimum necessary
The proposal would give states and certain covered entities added flexibility to ensure accurate but limited information is reported to the NICS, which would not include clinical, diagnostic, or other mental health information. Instead, certain covered entities would be permitted to disclose the minimum necessary identifying information about individuals who have been involuntarily committed to a mental institution or otherwise have been determined by a lawful authority to be a danger to themselves or others or to lack the mental capacity to manage their own affairs. Importantly, the proposed permission focuses on those entities performing relevant commitments, adjudications, or data repository functions. The proposed modifications would merely permit, and not require, covered entities to report to the NICS. In addition, the proposed rule would not change the existing permitted uses and disclosures of protected health information under the HIPAA Privacy Rule. The deadline for comment is March 10, 2014.
and
0 comments:
Post a Comment