Oh, Now Healthcare.gov Will Protect Privacy?
Even after last year’s dismal launch of the federal health insurance exchange website, the government still can’t learn from its mistakes and build a website that doesn’t harm those who use it. Last week, news broke that the government was sharing with third parties the sensitive health information of Americans who used the federal exchange. Now, the Associated Press reports the government has stopped the practice. But the government went into damage control by not speaking to the AP reporter, as if protecting the image of the administration is more important than the privacy of millions of Americans. Still, it’s not clear how much information the government was sharing, what that data was used for and if there was any abuse. It’s not even clear if they can protect the privacy of Americans. The Department of Health and Humans Services fired CGI Federal for creating the original, unworkable website. But now, the IRS has hired the contractor to help with its ObamaCare tax enforcement. The government can’t even hire a competent IT firm. Why do we think it will successfully protect Americans’ privacy? More…
- Tags:
- healthcare
- privacy
- HHS
- IRS