HIPAA News

Your #1 source for info about HIPAA, HIPAA compliance, HIPAA privacy and the latest HIPAA lawsuits

  • Home
  • Archives
  • Links
  • RSS Feed
  • Follow @hipaanews on Twitter
  • Follow HIPAA News on LinkedIn
  • Like HIPAA News on Facebook

Privacy Advocates Question OPM Central Data Base Plans

November 11, 2010 by melanierivera

Uh oh is Big Brother raising its ugly head in healthcare management? Many privacy advocates are saying yes .

Their beef is with the federal Office of Personnel Management. The agency has been tasked with creating a comprehensive database of health insurance claim records for the Federal Employee Health Benefit Program (FEHBP), the newly established National Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Program and the forthcoming Multi-State Option Plan by President Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Last month the OPM told various media sources that a central database would be the “best value for both enrollees and taxpayers” as such a system will enable them to manage the various programs more efficiently.

The OPM insist that all the data will be de-indentified but they have so far been rather vague about what exactly that will entail. And that is what has some people rather worried. “There are far too many unknowns about the program for it to be acceptable,” at this point, Harley Geiger, policy counsel for the Center for Democracy and Technology, told ComputerWorld in a recent interview.

The CDT and fifteen other organizations have now put their concerns in writing in the form of a letter to OPM Director John Berry. In the letter they express a number of concerns over the agency’s lack of actual policy. They go on to suggest that a central database is not necessary and express concern over a plan to make data available to third-party researchers and analysts and for certain law enforcement and judicial purposes.

“The government, researchers and covered entities already possess the necessary authority to carry out the described uses for the warehouseʼs data. Rather than duplicate sensitive enrollee information by copying it into the warehouse, government agencies and researchers could access data already routinely collected in the ordinary course of business by the health plans participating in the affected insurance programs,” the letter states.

Whether or not the letter will have any impact remains to be seen. There is no set timeline for the creation of the database at this time.

Share this:

  • Tweet

Related

Posted in: HIPAA News Tagged: HIPAA news, OPM, patient information records, patient privacy

Subscribe to new HIPAANews.net posts via Email:

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

RSS Latest HIPAA News from Around the Web

  • Carroll County Supervisors To Consider Vacating Survey, HIPAA Service Agreement At Monday’s Meeting – Carroll Broadcasting Company May 31, 2025
  • Carroll County Supervisors To Consider Vacating Survey, HIPAA Service Agreement At Monday’s Meeting – Carroll Broadcasting Company May 31, 2025
  • Serviceaide Facing Multiple Class Action Lawsuits Over 483K-Record Data Breach – The HIPAA Journal May 31, 2025
  • Department of Conservation reports data breach involving HIPAA-protected information – KBIA May 30, 2025
  • OCR Settles HIPAA Investigation with Comstar for $75,000 – The HIPAA Journal May 30, 2025
  • Department of Conservation reports data breach involving HIPAA-protected information – KOMU 8 May 30, 2025
  • Department of Conservation reports data breach involving HIPAA-protected information – KOMU 8 May 30, 2025
  • Bradford Health Services Notifies Patients About 2023 Cyberattack – The HIPAA Journal May 30, 2025
  • Florida Healthcare Provider BayCare To Pay $800K In HIPAA Security Settlement With HHS – Tampa Free Press May 30, 2025
  • HHS Office for Civil Rights Settles HIPAA Ransomware Cybersecurity Investigation with Comstar, LLC – HHS.gov May 30, 2025

Recent Posts

  • General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Compliance
  • Doc Vader on ER Misuse
  • HIPAA Privacy Complaints
  • 2017 is Raising the Bar for Annual HIPAA Breaches
  • Ensuring Availability of HIPAA During Natural Disasters

RSS HIPAA Book Reviews

  • HIPAA video
  • 11 Years of HIPAA and it’s still not easy for consumers
  • HIPAA Checklists
  • Five Essential HIPAA Books for Beginners
  • Top 10 highest-rated HIPAA books for IT Managers

Copyright © 2025 HIPAA News.

Lifestyle WordPress Theme by themehit.com