The ongoing technical glitches with the online health insurance exchanges established under President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act have fueled considerable concerns about the security and privacy of sensitive personal data belonging to people who apply for healthcare insurance. Many security, privacy and patient’s rights groups worry that the online portals pose serious identity theft and other risks for people who submit their personal data online.
The healthcare exchanges were setup as part of an ambitious health care reform initiative by President Obama. They are designed to enable people without health insurance to shop around and buy an insurance plan that best fits their needs and budgets. The federal government runs a site called Healthcare.Gov that lets people in about 30 states enroll in private health insurance plans of their choice. Residents in other states can shop around and sign up for private health insurance plans via state-run health insurance portals. Over 7 million uninsured Americans are expected to sign up for health insurance plans via such sites between now and March 2014.
With the exchanges open and running, there is growing concern about the security controls in place to protect sensitive data like names, Social Security Numbers, birth dates and other information that individuals need to submit in order to shop around for insurance plans. Many are concerned that the health insurance sites do not have adequate access controls in place to ensure that only authorized people have access to personal data. Others worry that the portals are susceptible to malware and hacker attacks. There is also considerable concern over the measures in place to monitor, detect and mitigate suspicious activity.
If you live in Southern California and have questions about the Affordable Care Act and its implications, please contact Stacy My Insurance Lady, an independent insurance agent based in Calabasas, California. She can help you navigate through the intricacies of the new health insurance exchanges in a safe and secure manner.