[AnthonyMouse]

HIPAA is a facet of the general disease in the US healthcare system. The compliance cost is enormous but the industry doesn't object, it even benefits them, because it's all getting billed to insurance and the more everything costs the higher the base cost they get to multiply by their profit margin. Meanwhile the insurance is heavily subsidized by employers due to tax incentives, and the employees/citizens don't even realize how much it's costing them because there are so many layers of indirection.

[simion314]

From my perspective as an outsider I see the regular US citizens loving HIPAA, seems to me to be p[laced in the same category as guns and free speech (even more I never seen someone arguing that health data should be sold to the highest bidder and in secret) were for guns and free speech there are people that want more limitations.

[AnthonyMouse]

Of course, because they're seeing the benefit and not the cost. It's like asking people if they want free video hosting without mentioning that you're tracking everybody who uses it. People say yes.

[simion314]

So your point is that HIPAA is bad, your doctor should be able to sell your data? My point was that your browsing data is similar to health data, it could even contain health data so it should be a trail of who is collecting what and is sharing with whom and why. I won't believe the argument that implementing transparency for what you collect and sell is too expensive.

[AnthonyMouse]

My point is that HIPAA has absurdly high compliance costs. It's like buying an apple for a million dollars. The problem isn't that apples are bad, but we sure shouldn't buy any more for that price.

[simion314]

Isn't the cost an implementation detail? The laws do not requiere things to be expensive and there might be a need for more regulations to fix the costs with better defined standards,software,procedures etc.