Crapo, Risch work to protect privacy
|
|
September 19, 2013 |
Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch are
co-sponsoring a new bill introduced by the
Finance Committee Ranking Member Orrin Hatch
(R-Utah). The Trust But Verify Act will prevent
the implementation of health insurance exchanges
established under Obamacare until the U.S.
Government Accountability Office and U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services
Inspector General can verify that the proper
tools are in place to protect the private
information of enrollees.
“Proper safeguards must be in place to protect
the personal privacy of Americans participating
in any health care exchange,” Crapo said. “The
information technology that will be used to
protect personal information stored in the
Federal Data Services Hub has only just been
completed, yet the exchanges are scheduled to
open October 1. There is no independent
verification that the privacy of millions of
Americans will be protected. Almost daily, we
learn more about undisclosed government data
collection efforts, absent Americans’ consent,
such as by the National Security Agency,
Internal Revenue Service and Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau. Safeguards must be in place
before these exchanges move ahead.”
“It is imperative that the Obama administration
be held accountable to make absolutely certain
that the data systems for the exchanges are
secure,” Risch said. “While my clear and strong
preference is to see a full repeal of Obamacare,
the least that the administration can do is
delay implementation until we can be entirely
sure that the American people will not be at
risk when they submit sensitive personal
information to the Data Hub.”
Obamacare mandates on October 1, 2013, a new
online marketplace of health insurance exchanges
opens for enrollment by uninsured individuals.
Individuals signing up will be required to
provide personal information, including Social
Security numbers and financial and household
income information, into the Federal Data
Services Hub (Data Hub). The Data Hub is an
information-sharing network that would allow
state and federal agencies to verify a person’s
eligibility for federal benefits. The
administration announced last week that the Data
Hub was ready for operation, but the hurried
launch of the program to support the exchanges
has raised questions about the sufficiency of
security protections.
Crapo and Risch added, “This bill highlights yet
another problem in the existing list regarding
the rollout of the health care law. We remain
steadfast in our opposition to the law, and our
work to defund and repeal it continues.” |
|
Questions or comments about this
article?
Click here to e-mail! |
|
|
|
|
