ObamaCare: a massive privacy breach waiting to happen

As part of ObamaCare, individuals and small businesses will begin purchasing private insurance from state-based health insurance exchanges in all 50 states and the District of Columbia beginning on Oct. 1. In order to facilitate the exchange of information between the states, the federal government, insurers, and consumers, the federal government is building a “Data...

As part of ObamaCare, individuals and small businesses will begin purchasing private insurance from state-based health insurance exchanges in all 50 states and the District of Columbia beginning on Oct. 1. In order to facilitate the exchange of information between the states, the federal government, insurers, and consumers, the federal government is building a “Data Hub.”

The Obama administration recently announced that it had completed security testing of the ObamaCare Data Hub.

But there are some serious concerns surrounding the security of the system. According to some, it greatly threatens Americans’ health and financial privacy.

As recently as August, the government’s own audit raised serious concerns about the system’s security. Now, Michael Astrue, a former general counsel of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and former Social Security Commissioner is calling on the Obama administration to delay ObamaCare implementation due to privacy concerns.

Testifying before a Congressional subcommittee, Astrue stated:

“Congress is bitterly divided about the Affordable Care Act, but there should be common ground. Whether or not you support an individual mandate, you can embrace the principle that no one should be forced to sacrifice privacy in order to comply with that mandate.”

But that is what is about to occur. Not only has the Inspector General not independently verified the testing, Astrue he points out that there are many deficient areas that the Inspector General has overlooked:

“He [Inspector General] ignored the privacy issues, the security issues, and the issues associated with poorly screened and trained contractors. He did not assess usability, performance measures, governance or contingency plans. With HHS’s expanded role in health care, Americans need an Inspector General who is a watchdog, not a lapdog.”

While there is always going to be a risk of data breaches in the modern world, the idea that the federal government isn’t taking, at a minimum, the same steps that a Fortune 500 company would take to secure sensitive personal information should cause alarm. Astrue concludes:

“President Obama has delayed other parts of the Affordable Care Act. Vulnerable Americans without lobbyists deserve the same respect and deference given to the business community. You should support a moratorium on the exchanges until HHS secrecy ends, and until we know whether uninsured Americans, will be forced to pay—along with their premiums—the high price of their privacy.”

Illinoisans should call upon their representatives to oppose the implementation of ObamaCare. The law will not only fail to deliver on the important goals of health care access and affordability but, threatens to run roughshod over Americans’ most personal financial and health information.

Read the full testimony. Michael J. Astrue’s bio.