Consumer groups have hailed the regulations as the first comprehensive federal medical privacy standards. But critics, while praising the goal of protecting the privacy of people's medical records, say these regulations go too far and should be modified before their effective date, which was going to be Monday, but now has been delayed until at least mid-April by a technical glitch. At first, it might seem obvious what pro-business Bush will do. They also are the ones who will lose most if the trade in private medical information is inhibited. Employers use such information in hiring decisions.
Pharmaceutical companies can target promotions of drugs they peddle.
No wonder the main difference of opinion among business lobbies is whether to castrate or kill the regulations. When the regulations were first posted for public comment, they were relatively moderate. But Janlori Goldman, a former ACLU staff attorney who now directs the Health Privacy Project, single-handedly generated about 28,000 comments demanding tighter rules. She was so pleased with the final regulations that she helped President Clinton introduce them to the media. Given this alignment of forces, one would expect Bush to send the regulations back to the drawing board, where they might at least be simplified and their costs reduced.